African Journal of Food Science and Technology (ISSN: 2141-5455) Vol. 2(2) pp.

022-029, February, 2011 Available online 

http://www.interesjournals.org/AJFST Copyright © 2011 International Research Journals 

Full Length Research Paper 

Total antioxidant activity, phenolic, flavonoid and 

ascorbic acid contents of Nigerian vegetables. 
Olajire A. A1* and Azeez L2 
1* 
Industrial and Environmental Chemistry Unit, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria 2 
Industrial and Environmental Chemistry Unit, Department of Chemical Sciences, Fountain University, Osogbo, 
Nigeria 
Accepted 17 January, 2011 
Antioxidant  activities,  total  phenolic,  flavonoid  and  ascorbic  acid  contents  of  different  vegetables  commonly 
consumed  in  Nigeria were determined. The antioxidant activities of vegetables ranged from 22.15% (Talinum 
triangulare) to 92.30% (Capsicum frutesceus). Solanum macrocarpon, with the lowest IC 
50 
, is the most potent vegetable of the samples analyzed, that could scavenge most free radicals; while 
Cucumis contents sativus, with of vegetables the highest IC 
50 , ranged from 22.1 is the least potent. Total phenolic, flavonoid and ascorbic acid 
to 370.68 mg quercetin g 
– 1 
; 10.23 to 215.39 mg quercetin g 
– 
1 and between 16.67 to 150.67 mg ascorbic acid g 
– 1 
, respectively. A high and significant correlation 
existed between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of vegetables (r 
2 
=  0.861,  p  < 
0.05),  indicating  that  total  phenolic  content  is  the  major  contributor  to the antioxidant activity of vegetables. 
However,  flavonoids,  which  belong  to  the  phenolic  compounds,  were  not  significantly  correlated  with 
antioxidant activity (r 
2 = 0.143, antioxidant and phenolic content p (r 
2 
< = 0.05). 0.591, Ascorbic p < 0.05). 
acid fairly correlated (r 
2 
= 0.546, p < 0.05) with 
Keywords: Antioxidant activity, total phenolics, total flavonoids, ascorbic acid, vegetables, 
INTRODUCTION 
Our  body  is  exposed  to  a  large  number  of  foreign  chemicals  everyday  (Santhakumari  et  al,  2003).  The  most  of 
which  are man-made and our inability to properly metabolize them negatively affects our health by the generation of 
free  radicals.  Free  radicals  are  also  generated  during  normal metabolism of aerobic cells (Carmen and Florin, 2009; 
Ghaseme  et  al,  2009;  Li  et  al,  2008;  Hunag  et  al,  2005;  Zaporozhets  et al, 2004; Odukoya et al, 2007). The oxygen 
consumption  inherent  in  cells  growth  leads  to  the  generation  of  series  of  oxygen  free  radicals.  Highly  active  free 
radicals  and  their  uncontrolled  production  are  responsible  for  numerous  pathological  processes  such as cell tumour 
(prostate  and colon cancers) and coronary heart diseases (Karadenz et al, 2005; Barros et al, 2007; Chanwitheesuk et 
al, 2005; Marinova et al, 2005; Jagadish et al, 2009). 
Antioxidants can significantly delay or prevent the oxidation of easily oxidizable substances (Atrooz, 2009; 
*Corresponding author Email: olajireaa@yahoo.com 
Kim  et  al,  2009).  Natural  antioxidants  are  classified  according  to  their  mechanism  of  action  as  chain-breaking 
antioxidants  which  scavenge  free  radicals  or  inhibit  the  initiation  step  or interrupt the propagation step of oxidation 
of  lipid  and  as  preventive  antioxidants  which  slow  the  rate  of  oxidation  by  several  actions  but  do  not  convert  free 
radicals  (Ou  et  al,  2002;  Thaipong  et  al,  2006;  Ebrahinzadeh  et  al,  2008;  Semalty  et  al,  2009;  El-  Qudah,  2008; 
Hodzic  et  al,  2008;  Othman  et  al,  2007;  Temraz and Hel-Tantawy, 2008; Ahmad and Beigh, 2008). However; there 
have  been  concerns  about  synthetic  antioxidants  such  as  butylated  hydroxyanisole  (BHA)  and  butylated 
hydroxytoluene  (BHT) because of their possible activity as promoters of carcinogenesis (Rahman et al, 2008). There 
is  growing  interest  toward  natural  antioxidants  from  herbal  sources  (Larson,  1998;  Gazzani et al, 1988; Velioglu et 
al,  1988).  Epidemiological  and  in  vitro  studies  on  medicinal  plants  and vegetables strongly have supported the idea 
that plant constituents with antioxidant activity are capable of exerting protective effects against oxidative stress in 
 
biological systems (Cao et al, 1996; Block and Patterson, 1992; Ness and Powles 1997). 
Vegetables  and  fruits  contain  high  concentration  of  numerous  redox-active  antioxidants  such  as  polyphenols, 
carotenoids,  ascorbic  acids, tocopherol and flavonoids which fight against hazardous oxidative damage of plant cells 
(Odukoya, 2007; Karadenz et al, 2005; Ou et al, 2002; El-Qudah, 2008). In animals, antioxidants production is much 
more  limited  and  generation of free radicals during metabolism beyond the antioxidant capacity has been implicated 
in  the  pathogenesis  of  most  diseases.  Thus,  the  consumption  of  dietary  antioxidants  from  vegetables  and  fruits  is 
beneficial in preventing these diseases (Sumazian et al, 2010; Faujam et al, 2009; Magdalena et al, 2009). 
Owing  to  the  relationship  between  free  radical  scavenging  capacity  of  vegetables  and  fruits,  many  analytical 
methodologies  have  been  published  for  the  determination  of  antioxidant  ability.  Phenolics  in  fruits  have  been 
monitored  by  HPLC  (Tung  et  al,  2007)  or  colorimetrically  using  Folio-ciocalteu  reagent  (Faujam  et  al,  2009; 
Magdalena  et  al,  2009).  Several  assays  have  been  used  to  evaluate  total  antioxidant  capacity  of  foods  and  food 
products  including  spectrophotometric  methods using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (Ghaseme et al, 2009; 
Li  et  al, 2008; Odukoya et al, 2007; Jagadish et al, 2009; Atrooz, 2009; Kim et al, 2009; Semalty et al, 2009; Ahmad 
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic and Beigh, 2008); 2, acid (ABTS 
2’-azinobis + 
) (3- (Ou et al, 2002; Thaipong et al, 2006); ferric reducing power (FRAP) (Atrooz, 2009; Kim et al, 2009; Ou et al, 
2002; Thaipong et al, 2006); oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) (Atrooz, 2009; Kim et al, 2009; Ou et al, 
2002; Thaipong et al, 2006; Ebrahinzadeh et al, 2008; Semalty et al, 2009; El-Qudah, 2008); the β-carotene 
linoleate model (Barros et al, 2007); voltammetry and amperometic methods (Magdalena et al, 2009). 
Our  objectives  were  to  (1)  determine  the  total  antioxidant activity, phenolic, flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents 
of  commonly  consumed  vegetables  in  Nigeria  and  identify  which  of  these  vegetables  has  the  highest  free  radical 
scavenging activity; (2) to determine level of correlation of these measured parameters. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Sampling procedures 
We  used  in  this  study  fifteen  vegetables,  Vernonia  amygdalina,  Brassica  oleracea,  Cucumis  sativus,  Murraya koenigii, Telfaria 
occidentalis,  Basella  alba,  Amaranth  caudatus,  Corchorus  olitorius,  Ocinum  gratissimum,  Capsicum  frutesceus,  Spinacia 
oleracea,  Talinum  triangulare,  Solanum  macrocarpon,  Allium  cepa  and  Lycopersicon  esculentum  bought  from various markets 
in Osogbo and identified by Dr Awodoyin from Botany Department (Fountain University, Osogbo). 
Olajire and Azeez 023 
Chemicals 
Standards:  BHA  (butylated  hydroxyanisol), α-tocopherol, L- ascorbic acid, Quercetin, Folin-ciocalteu’s phenol, 2,2-diphenyl-1- 
picrylhydrazyl  (DPPH)  were  all  purchased  from  Sigma-Aldrich,  Germany.  Sodium  carbonate,  Aluminium  chloride,  2,  6- 
dichlorophenolindophenol  and  methanol  were  purchased  from  BDH  Poole,  England.  All  the  chemicals  used  were  of  analytical 
grade. Deionized distilled water (ddH 
2 
O)  was  used  throughout  the  experiment.  Jenway  6405  UV-Visible  Spectrophotometer  by 
Buch Scientific Inc.USA was used for analysis. 
Extraction 
The  samples  were  cut  into  pieces  and  lyophilized  with  Lyotrap  freeze  drying  machine  (LTE  Scientific  Ltd  UK)  to  remove  the 
moisture  content.  Lyophilization  was  used  to  give  the samples uniform moisture removal and submit the products for analysis in 
similar form. Resulting dried samples were powdered using Moelinux blender. 
Precisely,  1g  of  ground  lyophilized  sample  was  weighed  and  extracted  twice  with  a  total  volume of 100 mL of 70% aqueous 
methanol.  The  mixture  was  shaken  on an orbital shaker (Stuart SSLI, Barlword Scientific Ltd Britain) for 75 min at 300 rpm and 
then filtered through Whatman No. 4 filter paper. The combined methanolic extract was then evaporated at 40 
o 
C  using  rotary  evaporator  (R205D,  Shensung  Biological  Science  & 
Technology,  China)  to  dryness and then dissolved in absolute methanol for analysis. The plant’s parts used in this study and their 
uses are given in Table 1. 
DPPH Radical Assay 
The  hydrogen  atom  or  electron  donating  abilities  of  the  corresponding  extracts  and  some  pure compounds were measured from 
the  bleaching  of  the  purple-coloured  methanolic  solution  of  2,  2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl  (DPPH)  as  shown  in  the  equation 
below. 
N N 
. 
NO 
2 
AH 
N 
O 
2 
N 
+ 
NH 
NO 
2 
+ A 
. 
NO 
2 Purple Bleached 
One mL of various concentrations of the extracts in methanol was added to 4 mL of 0.1 mmol L 
O 
2 
N 
NO 
2 
–1 
methanolic solution of DPPH. A blank probe was obtained by mixing 4 mL of 0.1 mmol L 
–1 
methanolic solution of DPPH and 200 μL of deionized distilled water (ddH 
2 
O).  After  30  min.  of  incubation  in  the  dark  at  room  temperature,  the  absorbance  was  read  at  517 nm against the prepared 
blank. Inhibition of free radicals by DPPH in percent (I %) was calculated using this formula: 
. 
(%) 
( ) test 
compound I 
= 
⌈ │ ⌊ 
A 
blank 
A 
− 
blank 
A sample ⌉ │ ⌋ 
sample 
x 
100 )1( theisAwhere 
blank 
absorbance theof control reaction ( containing all reagents except testthe compund theisAand absorbance theof 
 
024 Afr. J. Food Sci.Technol. 
Table 1: Plants parts used in this study and their uses 
Botanical name Vernacular/Common 
name 
Part used for this study 
Uses 
Vernonia amygdalina Brssica oleracea Cucumis sativus Murraya koenigii Telfaria occidentalis Basella alba Amaranth caudatus 
Corchorus olitorius Ocinum gratissimum Capsicum frutesceus Spinacia oleracea Talinum triangulare Solanum macrocarpon 
Allium cepa Lycopersicon esculentum 
Ewuro/ Bitter leaf Cabbage Cucumber Curry leaf Ugu/Pumpkin leaf Amunututu/Green leaf Tete/ Green Amaranth Ewedu/ Jute 
mallow Efinrin/ Mint leaf Ata rodo/Red pepper Soko/Spinach Gbure/Water leaf Gbagba/Egg plant leaf Alubosa pupa/Onion 
Tomato 
Leaves Leaves Leaves Leaves Leaves and stem Leaves and stem Leaves and stem Leaves and stem Leaves Fruit Leaves and stem 
Leaves and stem Leaves and stem Bulb Fruit 
Soup making Eaten raw as salad Eaten raw as salad As condiment Soup making Soup making Soup making Soup making As 
condiment and herb Soup making Leaves used in soup making Leaves used in soup making Leaves used in soup making Eaten 
raw and soup making Eaten raw and soup making 
L-ascorbic acid, Quercetin, BHA and α-tocopherol were used as standard controls. IC 
50 
Statistical Analysis values denote the concentration of sample which is 
required to scavenge 50% of DPPH free radicals. 
Experimental results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. All measurements were replicated three times. The data were 
correlated using Pearson correlation coefficient at p < 0.05. The Total phenolics, total flavonoids and ascorbic acids 
IC 
50 
Total  phenolics  were  determined  using  Folin-Ciocalteu  method  of  Jagadish  et  al.,  (2009)  with  slight  modification.  The 
methanolic extracts (0.5 mL) were added to a 25 mL volumetric flask filled with 10 mL ddH 
2 
values were calculated using linear regression analysis. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
O and 2.5 mL of 0.2 N Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent. A reagent blank using ddH 
2 
O instead of sample was prepared. After 
Total antioxidant activity 5 min., 2 mL of 
2% Na 
2 
CO 
3 
solution were added with mixing. The solution was diluted to the volume (25 mL) with ddH 
2 
 O  and  then  allowed  to  stand  for  90  min.,  and  the  absorbance  was 
measured  at  780  nm  versus  the  prepared  blank. Quercetin was used as standard for the calibration curve. Total phenolic contents 
were calculated as mg quercetin g 
–1 
dry weight of sample. The AlCl 
3 
method (Jagadish et al, 2009) was used for the determination of the total flavonoid content of the sample extracts. 
The antioxidant studies of different vegetables in Nigeria have been done. This study focused on total antioxidant 
activity in Nigerian local vegetables (Table 2). Total antioxidant activity of the vegetables ranged from 22.15% for 
Talinum triangulare to 92.30% for Capsicum frutesceus. Solanum macrocarpon is the most potent The methanolic 
extracts (1.5mL) was added to 10 mL volumetric flask filled with 5 mL ddH 
2 
O and 0.3 mL 5% NaNO 
2 
and mixed. A reagent blank using ddH 
2 
vegetable of all that could scavenge most free radicals as 
O instead of sample was prepared. After 5 min., 1.5ml of 2% methanolic AlCl 
3 
shown by the lowest IC 
50 
value while Cucumis sativus 
1 mol dm 
solution was added. Two mL of 
with the highest IC 
50 
of Solanum macrocarpon IC 
50 
, is the least potent (6.21 mg mL 
(Table –1 
) 2). 
The –3 
NaOH was added 5 min. later and then the volume was made up to 10 mL with ddH 
2 
to standards: L-ascorbic acid (IC 
50 
compared O. The 
mixture was vigorously shaken 
= 2.60 mg mL 
–1 
)
, on orbital shaker for 5 min. at 200 rpm and after 10 min. of incubation the absorbance was read at 367nm. Flavonoid contents 
Quercetin (IC 
50 
were  calculated  using  a  standard  calibration  curve,  prepared  from  Quercetin.  The  flavonoid  contents  were  expressed  as  mg 
quercetin g 
–1 
), α-tocopherol (IC 
50 =13.20 mg mL 
= 1.31 mg mL –1 
) and BHA (IC 
50 
= 3.36 mg mL 
–1 
), shows that it can scavenge more free radicals than 
α-tocopherol. 
–1 
of extract. Ascorbic acid was determined using the method described by Barros et al (2007). The methanolic extract was 
diluted with 10 mL 
The total antioxidant activity obtained in this study were comparable with those obtained by Marinova et al., (2005) but higher 
than that of Odukoya et al (2007). This of 0.5% oxalic acid and the mixture was shaken for 45 min. on orbital shaker at 200 rpm 
at room temperature and filtered through Whatman No. 4 filter paper. Precisely 1 mL of the filtrate was mixed 
could be due to methods used for the analysis and the medium of extraction as pointed out by Li et al., (2008). 
with 9 mL of 0.1mol L 
–1 
of 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol. A reagent blank using ddH 
2 
O instead of sample was prepared. The 
Relevant antioxidant activities absorbance was read 
within 30 min at 515 nm against the prepared blank. The ascorbic acid content was calculated using the 
Relevant antioxidant compounds such as total 
phenolic, calibration curve, prepared from L-ascorbic acid. 
total flavonoid and total ascorbic acid contents were 
 
Olajire and Azeez 025 
Table 2: Antioxidant activity, flavonoid, phenolics and ascorbic acid contents of the vegetables studied 
Botanical name/Standards 
d 
Vernonia amygdalina Brssica oleracea Cucumis sativus Murraya koenigii Telfaria occidentalis Basella alba Amaranth caudatus 
Corchorus olitorius Ocinum gratissimum Capsicum frutesceus Spinacia oleracea Talinum triangulare Solanum macrocarpon 
Allium cepa Lycopersicon esculentum α-tocopherol L-Ascorbic acid Quercetin BHA 
% Yield Flavonoid 
content 
Phenolic content a 
a 
DPPH antioxidant 
b 
Ascorbic acid 
c 
IC 
50 
33 63 80 26 36 42 20 30 25 54 29 36 20 72 48 
216.33±2.89 19.29±2.2 62.43±5.1 243.59±4.44 117.25±2.11 26.53±3.57 69.67±1.15 81.38±0.07 105.2±5.66 24.78±4.2 
139.63±2.71 81.48±6.41 215.39±15.5 10.23±1.93 12.62±0.14 
238.4±5.24 22.1±2.95 101.33±13.05 327.43±7.65 251.85±12.83 81.11±6.55 186.67±67 200.03±16.07 252.2±4.1 370.38±6.42 
204.70±5.22 49.26±4.76 256.67±13.34 225.93±8.48 246.88±5.93 
66.73±0.3 31.88±0.27 28.19±0.13 88.43±0.05 77.02±0.08 30.49±0.05 32.71±2.62 63.34±0.11 72.11±0.04 92.30±0.14 57.3±0.49 
22.15±0.17 80.59±0.9 76.92±0.3 70.39±0.08 19.07 96.26 95.24 89.28 
98.81±1.54 18.32±1.2 16.67±0.14 150.67±3.21 150.34±1.41 47.74±0.4 60.81±2.14 93.93±0.44 69.34±2.41 135.61±3.11 
38.21±0.04 29.27±1.2 111.2±0.01 35.52±0.02 37.67±0.51 
12.37 49.62 71.14 7.35 11.67 34.45 15.81 11.84 8.67 14.04 12.63 40.51 6.21 23.41 17.05 13.20 2.60 1.31 3.36 
Each value is scavenging activity; 
expressed c 
mg ascorbic as mean ± acid/g standard of extract; 
deviation d 
mg /mL (n=3); 
of effective a 
mg quercetin/g of extract; 
b 
% of methanolic radical concentration at which 50% of DPPH radicals are scavenged; 
120 
y t i v i t c A t n a d i x o i t n A 
100 
80 
60 
40 
20 
0 
0 100 200 300 400 
Total Phenolics 
Figure 1. Correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolics, (r 
2 
= 0.861). 
successfully  analyzed  from  local  Nigerian  vegetables.  The  different  antioxidant  activities  of  the  vegetables  can  be 
ascribed  to  their  total  phenolic  concentrations.  When  comparing  the  data  in  Table  2,  Capsicum  frutesceus  had  the 
highest phenolic content (370.68 mg quercetin g 
works have been done on the effects of phenolic compounds on total antioxidants (Li et al, 2008; Magdalena et al, 
2009; Ghaseme et al, 2009; Jagadish et al, 2009; Atrooz, 2009; Kim et al, 2009; Semalty et al, –1 
) 
2009 and Ebrahinzadeh et al, 2008), and 
correlations followed by Murraya koenigii, Solanum macrocarpon, 
between phenolic compounds and total 
antioxidants (Bin Ocinum gratissimum, Telfaria occidentalis, Lycopersicon 
Li et al, 2008; Barros et al, 2007; 
Chanwitheesuk et al, esculentum, Vernonia amygdalina, Allium cepa, Spinacia 
2005). This same trend was also obtained in 
our study. olerace, Corchorus olitoriusa, Amaranth caudatus, 
There was a good linear correlation (r Cucumis 
sativus, Basella alba, Talinum triangulare and Brassica oleracea, this later had the least phenolic content (22.1 mg 
quercetin g 
2 
= 0.861, p < 0.05) between the total phenolic content and the scavenging of DPPH radical in each extract (Figure 1). 
These results –1 
). Several comprehensive 
indicated that the radical scavenging capacity of each 
 
026 Afr. J. Food Sci.Technol. 
400 350 s c i l o 
300 
n e 
250 
h P l 
200 
a t o 
150 
T 
100 50 0 
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 
Flavonoids content 
Figure 2. Correlation between total phenol and flavonoid content, (r 
2 
= 0.1477). 

100 
y t 
90 i v i t 
80 
c A 
70 
t n 
60 a d i 
50 
x o 
40 i t n A 
30 20 10 0 
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 
Flavonoids content 
Figure 3. Correlation between antioxidant activity and flavonoid content, (r 
2 
= 0.1373). 
extract  might  be  mostly  related  to  their  concentration  of  phenolic  hydroxyl  group.  The  antiradical  activity  of 
phenolic  compounds  depends  on  their  molecular  structure,  on  the  availability  of  phenolic  hydrogens  and  on  the 
possibility  for  stabilization  of  the  resulting  phenoxyl  radicals  formed  by  hydrogen  donation  (Catherine  et  al, 1996; 
Ramarathnam et al, 1997). Flavonoids which belong to the phenolic compounds, poorly correlated (r 
are  flavonoids  which  possess  biological  activities  such  as  anti-inflammatory,  anti-carcinogenic  and  anti- 
atherosclerotic acitivities. There was no correlation between (r 
2 
= 0.143) total as flavonoids and radical scavenging activity, shown in Figure 3. This lack of relationship is in 
agreement with other reports (Heinonen et al., 1998; Anagnostopoulou et al., 2006; Nickavar et al., 2007); 2 
= 
which indicates that flavonoids did not 
contribute to 0.145, p < 0.05) with phenolic content of the vegetables 
antioxidant activity of vegetables. analyzed 
(Figure 2). 
Ascorbic acid contents of vegetables analysed 
are given Flavonoid contents of the vegetables are shown in Table 
in Table 2. Murraya koenigii had the highest 
value of 2. Solanum macrocarpon had the highest value of 215.39 
150.67 mg ascorbic acid g mg quercetin g 
–1 
and Cucumis sativus had the –1 
and Allium cepa had the lowest value of 
lowest value of 16.67 mg ascorbic acid g 10.23 
mg quercetin g 
–1 
. The values –1 
. Among the phenolic compounds 
are in agreement with values obtained by Sumazian et 
 
s c i l o n e h P l a t o T 
Figure 5. Correlation between total phenolics and ascorbic acid, (r 
2 
= 0.581). 
al.,  (2010)  and  Ahmad  and  Hussain  Beigh (2008), but higher than what were obtained by Okiei et al., (2009). There 
is no correlation between total ascorbic acid and total antioxidant activities (r 
contribution to the total antioxidant activities of vegetables. 
2 
= 0.546, p < 0.05; Figure 4) and phenolic content (r 
2 
= 0.591, p < 0.05; Figure 5). 
CONCLUSION According to Bahorun et al. 
(2004), it is normal when total ascorbic acid do not correlate with the total antioxidant 
The antioxidant capacities, total phenolic, 
flavonoid and activities since total ascorbic acid made little or no 
ascorbic acid contents of fifteen vegetables commonly consumed in Nigeria were evaluated. Some of the 

y t i v i t c A t n a d i x o i t n A 
Figure 4 

400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 

0 50 100 150 200 
Ascorbic acid content 
100 
0 50 100 150 200 
Ascorbic acid content 
2 
= 0.546). 

0 
Olajire and Azeez 027 

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 
. 
Correlation between antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid, (r 
 
028 Afr. J. Food Sci.Technol. 
vegetables can be considered as good sources of antioxidant athesclerosis; as and shown as by shown their by IC 
50 their , anti-cancer total and anti- phenolic and flavonoid contents and anti-inhibitory agent as indicated by their 
ascorbic acid content. Solanum macrocarpon is the most potent vegetable (lowest IC 
50 
value)  and  with  highest  total  phenolic,  flavonoid  and  good  ascorbic 
acid  contents.  A  significant  correlation  was  obtained  between  antioxidant  activity  and  phenolic  content  indicating 
that phenolic compounds contribute significantly to antioxidant activity of the investigated vegetables. 
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