Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. (2017). 4(4): 22-29 22 International Journal of Advanced Research in Biological Sciences ISSN: 2348-8069 www.ijarbs.com DOI: 10.22192/ijarbs Coden: IJARQG(USA) Volume 4, Issue 4 - 2017 Research Article A Comparative Study on Proximate and Antioxidant Activity of Brassica oleracea (Kale) and Spinacea oleracea (Spinach) Leaves Ayushi Agarwal 1 , Nishtha Raj 2 and Neelam Chaturvedi 3* 1,2 .Research Scholar, 3 Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Banasthali University, Dist- Tonk, Rajasthan. 304022, *Corresponding author: neelam295chaturvedi@rediffmail.com Abstract Green leafy vegetables have excellent content of vitamins as well as minerals and also contain an enormous variety of bioactive components which provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the proximate composition by standard AOAC method, antioxidant properties and DPPH free radicals scavenging activity of aqueous extract of Brassica oleracea and Spinacea oleracea. The study revealed that crude fiber, protein, iron and calciumcontent in Brassica oleracea was significantly increased by 41%, 41.6%, 8.7% and 37.23% respectively, when compared to Spinacea oleracea at p≤ 0.05 level. In aqueous extract of S.oleracea recorded the higher content of total phenols and total flavonoids i.e 41.2±0.18 mg GAE/g and 20.40±1.23 mg QE/g respectively as compared with B.oleracea . Although both leaves extract showed good amount of antioxidant components whereas free radical scavenging activity was higher B.oleracea leaves (IC 50 -26 μg/ml) while S.oleracea had (IC 50 - 48μg/ml) when compared to standard ascorbic acid. The study may conclude that Brassica oleracea leaves are as good as Spinacea oleracia leaves which could be incorporated in food formulation as therapeutic agent apart from its nutritional essence which could be explored to provide affordable remedy to masses. Keywords: Brassica oleracea, Spinacea oleracea, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl),Total Phenols Content, Total Flavonoids Content. Introduction Green leafy vegetables play an important role in supporting the normal functioning of the different body systems and preventing diseases (Emebu et al., 2011). It provides high amounts of micro-minerals which participate in vital functions of nutrient metabolism and retard various degenerative diseases (Duma et al., 2014). Phytochemicals found in vegetables are strong antioxidants which reduce the risk of chronic disease by protecting against free- radical damage, by modifying metabolic activation and detoxification of carcinogens, or even influencing processes that alter the course of tumor. Vegetables contain low amounts of fat and calories (Yadav et al., 2013). They are rich sources of carotene, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, folic acid and minerals like calcium, iron and phosphorus. In addition, they contain antinutrients which reduce their bioavailability. They also act as buffering agents for acid substance obtained during the digestion process (Gupta et al., 2008). Kale (Brassica oleracea) is a leafy green vegetable belonging to the cabbage family Brassicaceae that contains a large amount of health- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22192/ijarbs.2017.04.04.004