Variations in lycopene content and antioxidant activity of Indian Marigold

Abstract

newlineBackground: Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that quenches free radicals and protects from cellular damage. French marigold (Tagetes patula Linn.) flower has newlinebeen demonstrated as an abundance source of lycopene. However, antioxidant activity newlineof lycopene obtained from French marigold flower is poorly understood. In the newlinepresent study, we investigated lycopene content, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic and flavonoid content of different French marigold flowers. We also established the correlation of lycopene content with its antioxidant activities and different newlinemorphological parameters of the plant. Furthermore, the effect of marigold flowers newlineextract on rheumatoid arthritis disease and level of cytokines (TNF- and#945; and INF- and#945;) has newlinebeen investigated. Materials and methods: Different cultivars of French marigold were included in the newlinestudy based on color and its intensity. Lycopene was isolated using column newlinechromatography. The antioxidant activity was analysed for DPPH-free radical newlinescavenging activity (DPPH), ferrous ion chelating activity (FICA), hydroxyl radical newlinescavenging activity (HRSA). Total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) content of newlinethe flower extract was also quantified. The half maximal inhibitory concentration newline(IC 50 newlineResults: The maroon cultivars showed relatively potential for higher lycopene content and antioxidant activity compared to other cultivars. In addition, a significant newlinecorrelation was observed between lycopene content and antioxidant activity. In the newlinepresent study, we observed a negative correlation of lycopene content with newlineantioxidant activity assay FICA (IC newline) of flowers extract was calculated and compared with different cultivars using newlineone way ANOVA and followed by Tukey s post test. Correlation analysis was done newlineby using Pearson correlation method. newline50 ). In contrast, ferrous ion chelating activity was newlinepositively linked with lycopene content. The reason behind inter assay variation is not newlineclear. Furthermore, we correlated total phenolic and flavonoid content of T. patula newlineflower