Nutritional and phytochemical evaluation of A. lividus L.syn. Amaranthus blitum subsp. oleraceus (L.) Costea leaves
The determination of the proximate composition of A. lividus showed the extract to be rich in protein (17.28 ± 0.42 gm/100 gm and dietary fiber (8.35 ± 0.16 gm/100 gm) but very low in fat content (0.69 ± 0.05 gm/100 gm). The phytochemical screening of the various extracts revealed the presence of phenolics ranging between 1.38 to 9.07 µg GAE/mg sample, flavonoid in the range 0.88-5.04 µg RE/mg sample, alkaloids (8.16 %) saponins (29.44 %) and tannins (4.27 %). The bioactive compounds were explored through GC-MS which showed presence of compounds like β-sitosterol, phytol and tetradecane in high amounts. Methanolic soxhlet extract showed highest radical scavenging activity against ABTS (IC50 - 1.61±0.01 mg/ml), DPPH (IC50 - 3.18±0.04 mg/ml), FRAP (161.39±0.64 TE/g extract) and reducing power assays. The plant extracts screened against various bacterial strains showed good to moderate antibacterial activity. Findings of the study justify the traditional usage of A. lividus and provide evidence of its potential use as antioxidants and antimicrobials.