Abstract

Varieties of eggplants are consumed in the diets around the world and have been reported to possess antioxidant potentials. However, the present study was designed to evaluate the effect of ripening on the antioxidant properties of eggplant. In vitro chemical measures of antioxidant activity employed are DPPH radical scavenging, reducing properties, iron chelation, prevention of both deoxyribose degradation and lipid peroxidation by the seed and flesh of both ripe and unripe eggplant. In addition, the phenol and flavonoid contents of both the ripe and unripe eggplant were also evaluated. The results indicate that ripening increases the radical scavenging ability and reducing properties of the flesh, whereas the iron chelating ability of the flesh was unaltered. However, both flesh and seed of ripe and unripe eggplant exerted similar inhibitory effect on the Fe²⁺ and H₂O₂-induced deoxyribose degradation and hepatic lipid peroxidation induced by both Fe²⁺ and sodium nitroprusside. Hence, we concluded that when consumed raw, both ripe and unripe eggplant can be considered as potential antioxidant sources.

Key words: Eggplant (Solanum melongena), antioxidant property, oxidative stress.