Antioxidant Properties and Preliminary Evaluation of Phytochemical Composition of Different Anatomical Parts of Amaranth

Antioxidant properties of amaranth extracts isolated sequentially by acetone and methanol/water from defatted plant leaves, flowers, stems and seeds were assessed by ABTS⁺•, DPPH•, ORAC and total phenols content (TPC) assays. In addition, antioxidant properties of solid plant material were evaluated by the direct QUENCHER method using the same assays. Leaves and flowers of amaranth as well as their extracts possessed the highest antioxidant activities. Radical scavenging capacity in ABTS⁺• assay for leaves, flowers, stems and seeds evaluated by QUENCHER method were 144.24 ± 2.41, 112.33 ± 7.45, 19.05 ± 1.13 and 21.82 ± 1.06 μmol trolox equivalents in 1 g of dry weight, respectively. On-line HPLC-DPPH• assay was used to determine the activity of separated compounds and it was observed that rutin was the main radical scavenger in amaranth extracts. Preliminary screening of extract composition was performed by UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS and rutin, nicotiflorin, isoquercitrin, 4-hydroxybenzoic and p-coumaric acids were identified by measuring their accurate mass and retention time.