~ 1762 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(3): 1762-1765 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; 7(3): 1762-1765 Received: 19-03-2018 Accepted: 21-04-2018 Sushmita Khatoniar Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Community Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India Mridula Saikia Barooah Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Community Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India Ishwar Chandra Baruah Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India Correspondence Sushmita Khatoniar Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Community Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical assessment and antioxidant activity of selected green leafy vegetables of Assam Sushmita Khatoniar, Mridula Saikia Barooah and Ishwar Chandra Baruah Abstract Plant foods contain many bioactive compounds in addition to those which are traditionally considered as nutrients, also known as phytochemicals. North-East India is blessed with varying climates and natural surroundings and home of numerous herbs and medicinal plants. Present study was conducted to assess phytochemical and antioxidant activity of 12 commonly grown plants of Assam. Preliminary phytochemical screening reveal that Chenopodium album, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Phyllanthus amarus, Polygonum microcephalum and Pogostemon benghalensis showed positive results for the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponin, tannin and glycosides. Quantitative assessment revealed that these plants are rich in phenols and flavonoids. The DPPH free radical scavenging activities (% inhibition) of the selected green leafy vegetables were in the range of 18.64-69.34%. Hibiscus sabdariffa was having the highest inhibition percentage (69.34%) whereas Spinacia oleracea having the lowest value (18.64%). Amaranthus spinosus (62.64%), Chenopodium album (61.04%), Diplazium esculentum (58.43%) and Pogostemon benghalensis (64.27%) also showed higher DPPH free radical scavenging activities. Keywords: Phytochemicals, alkaloid, flavonoid, phenolics, antioxidants Introduction Phytochemicals are bioactive chemicals of plant origin. They are regarded as secondary metabolites because the plants that manufacture them may have little need for them. They are naturally synthesized in all parts of the plant body; bark, leaves, stem, root, flower, fruits, seeds, etc. i.e. any part of the plant body may contain active components [1] . The quantity and quality of phytochemicals present in plant parts may differ from one part to another. In fact, there is lack of information on the distribution of the biological activity in different plant parts essentially related to the difference in distribution of active compounds (or active principles) which are more frequent in some plant parts than in others [2] . Phytochemicals have been recognized as the basis for traditional herbal medicine practiced in the past and currently en vogue in parts of the world [3] . In the search for phytochemicals that may be of benefit to the pharmaceutical industry, researchers sometimes follow leads provided by local healers in a region [4] . Following such leads, plant parts are usually screened for phytochemicals that may be present. The presence of a phytochemical of interest may lead to its further isolation, purification and characterization. Then it can be used as the basis for a new pharmaceutical product. Materials and Methods Collection of Plant Material On the bases of ethnobotanical knowledge of available literature and visual observations of plants that were relatively free from diseases and insect damages, 12 plant species have been selected for the present study. Collected plant material were thoroughly washed and then dried under shade at 25 ± 2 ºC for about 10 days. The dried plant samples were ground well into a fine powder in a mixer grinder. The powdered samples were then stored in airtight containers at room temperature. Phytochemical Screening Phytochemical screening has been carried out following the procedures reported in literature [5, 6] .