| Summary: | Passiflora quadrangularis L. belongs to the family Passifloraceae which bears larger fruit
with edible juicy mesocarp and pulp known as a good source of phytochemicals. Cultivation
and plant management practices are known to influence the phytochemical compositions of
agricultural produce. This study aimed to examine the influence of the cultivation practices
on the antioxidant activities and secondary metabolites of the organically and conventionally
grown P. quadrangularis. Findings revealed organically treated P. quadrangularis plants
showed enhancement in their antioxidant properties and secondary metabolites profiles.
Among the plant parts, leaves of P. quadrangularis grown organically possessed higher
antioxidant activities compared to the conventional in all assays evaluated. The antioxidant
activities in the edible parts of the P. quadrangularis fruit have also been enhanced through
organic cultivation with significantly higher total phenolic content and DPPH in mesocarp,
and the pulp showed higher total flavonoid content, DPPH and FRAP. This observation is
supported by a higher level of vitamins and secondary metabolites in the samples. The secondary metabolites profile showed mesocarps were phenolic rich, the pulps were flavonoids
rich while leaves showed good composition of phenolics, flavonoids and terpenoids with outstanding antioxidant activities. The common secondary metabolites for organically produced
P. quadrangularis in different plant parts include 2-isopropyl-3-methoxycinnamic acid
(mesocarp and pulp), myricetin isomers (pulp and leaves), and malvidin-3-O-arabinoside
isomers (pulp and leaves). This study confirmed that organic cultivated P. quadrangularis
possessed higher antioxidant activities contributed by its vitamins and secondary
metabolites.
|
|---|