Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Some Agro-industrial Wastes

The present study investigated the content and profile of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity of methanolic
extracts of selected agro- industrial waste (AIW) i.e. date palm racemes (Phoenix dactylifera, DPR), Prickly pear peels
(Opuntiaficus-indica, PPP) and empty pea pods (Pisum sativum L, EPP). Non phenolic constitutes of DPR were also
analyzed by GC-MS. The oxidative stability of sunflower oil using these methanolic extracts was also investigated.
The major phenolic compounds were rutin in PPP, myrecetin in EPP and quercetin in DPR. Amongst the three methanolic
extracts, DPR revealed the highest scavenging activity with IC50 values of 21.6μg/ml, whereas EPP revealed
the lowest scavenging activity with IC50 of 94.5μg/ml. A significant difference in lipid oxidation indices was noticed
between the control and the sunflower oil samples containing DPR, PPP and EPP extracts.