Comparative study on antioxidant activity of different varieties of commonly consumed legumes in India

► Quantitation of antioxidant activity (AOA) and phenolics content of legumes. ► The AOA in terms of radical scavenging and metal ion chelating ability is studied. ► AOA is correlated with phenolics and seed coat color. Legumes are rich source of proteins, dietary fiber, micronutrients and bioactive phytochemicals. Thirty different varieties of commonly consumed legumes in India, were screened for phenolic content and antioxidant activity using, radical scavenging [(1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid, (ABTS+)], Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and metal ion (Fe2+) chelation assays. Legumes varied largely in their antioxidant activity. Horse gram, common beans, cowpea (brown and red) and fenugreek showed high DPPH radical scavenging activity (>400units/g), while lablab bean (cream and white), chickpea (cream and green), butter bean and pea (white and green) showed low antioxidant activity (0.95) with phenolic contents, in DPPH, ABTS+ and FRAP assays, whereas poor correlation (r2=0.297) was observed between Fe2+ chelating activity of the legumes and phenolic contents.