In the present study, the antioxidant, phytochemical and nutritional properties of two underutilized edible plants like Dillenia indica and Annona squamosa were evaluated. For this purpose, water extract of tested fruits were used for the determination of antioxidant potential through total antioxidant activity (TAA), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. High contents of phenolic and flavonoid were found in both fruit extracts. The current study marked an increase in the antioxidant potential of test fruits in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, this study revealed that both the test fruits are a rich source of macro and micronutrients and could serve as a good source of food with high nutritional value in future. The study concluded that the aqueous extract of the tested fruits exhibited the great scavenging activity towards the above mentioned free radicals.

Keywords: Underutilized fruits, bio-actives, Antioxidant potential