Total phenolic and vitamin C content and antiradical activity evaluation of traditionally consumed wild edible vegetables from Turkey

Abstract

Cultivation of wild edible vegetables, traditionally used as food, should increase in agriculture, as they have valuable nutritional content and contain bioactive compounds. Notably, wild edible green vegetables play a significant role in conventional diets. They are abundant in phenols and show high antiradical activity. The aim of this study was to determine the DPPH radical-scavenging activity, total phenolic content (TPC), and vitamin C content in 21 wild edible plants collected from Bingol province of eastern Turkey. As far as we know, this is the first report that presents useful data of interest for furthering the knowledge of the DPPH radical-scavenging activity, TPC, and vitamin C content of these species, traditionally consumed in the many districts in Bingol province. According to the results, the content of TPC, Vitamin C and level of DPPH radical-scavenging activity is higher in leaves than in stems of the edible greens. Rumex acetosella L., Rumex scutatus L. and Rumex pulcher L. are rich in vitamin C; Rumex pulcher L., Nasturtium officinale R. Br. and Chenopodium album L. had higher TPC and high antioxidant characteristic. Rumex pulcher L., Anchusa azurea Miller var. azurea and Rumex acetosa L. showed promising DPPH radical-scavenging activity. These new findings suggest that these wild edible vegetables can show valuable antioxidant and antiradical activity in the traditional ways of their consumption.