Anthocyanins from Indian Cassava (manihot Esculenta Crantz) and Its Antioxidant Properties

Cassava ((Manihot esculenta Crantz) leaf stalk is a renewable raw material and it is a major industrial crop in Tamilnadu rich in antioxidant compounds. To utilize this source, an environmentally sustainable procedure has been developed for the extraction of anthocyanin and to analyze its antioxidant properties. So, the present research was focused on cassava for total phenol contents, flavanoids, anthocyanins and it’s antioxidant activities were studied using leaf stalks. Three difficult solvents were tried to extract total phenol and anthocyanin from cassava leaf stalks. In the case of total phenol content acetone extract found to have maximum phenol content followed with acidified methanol and methanol. In the case of anthocyanin content, acidified methanol extract gave maximum yield followed with methanol and acetone extracts. The presence of phenolic compound and anthocyanin determine the free radical scavenging activity in cassava leaf stalk extract. The cassava leaf stalks, which was found to be a waste material after harvesting the tubers can be used as a valuable source for anthocyanin extraction, which will applicable in clinical and food industry. INTRODUCTION: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) belongs to Euphorbiaceae family is a perennial crop native to tropical America with its center of origin in North-eastern and Central Brazil . In the tropics, the roots of cassava are an important source of carbohydrates for human consumption. Cassava plants also produce green leaves that are consumed as vegetables in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Nigeria, and some Asian countries, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia . The dry powdered cassava leaf vegetable has reached commercial exploitation in the DRC, being exported to Belgium and France . The leaves are known to be rich in vitamin A and proteins 3, 4, . In addition to use as food, the crop has taken on more importance as a source of starch for industry and food processing and as an animal feed 1, 6, . Cassava was introduced in Uganda sometime after 1862, and it rapidly spread to most parts of the country 8 where it provided a basic daily source of dietary energy. Roots are processed into a wide variety of granules, paste, flour, etc., or consumed freshly boiled or raw . The leaves are also consumed as a green vegetable, which provides proteins and vitamins A and B. Cassava has been recognised as one of the most important food crops in Uganda, second to bananas in terms of area cultivated, total production and per capita consumption . Flavonoids are phenolic substances isolated from a wide range of vascular plants, and more than 8150 different flavonoids have been reported . They act in plants as antioxidants, antimicrobials, photoreceptors, visual attractors, feeding repellents, and for light screening .