• Jared Misonge Onyancha, Gervason Apiri Moriasi, and Elias Nelson Mandela.
• School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Mount Kenya University, PO Box 01000-342, Thika, Kenya.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 23 (4): 524536524-536.

BackgroundLaunaea cornuta is a vegetable with therapeutic advantage for human diseases.ObjectiveEvaluate nutritive and non-nutritive components, antioxidant activity, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy profile of L. cornuta leaves.MethodsProximate, nutri, non-nutrient, percentage phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid, and saponin contents were investigated using standard procedures. Total phenolic and flavonoids of the extracts were determined spectroscopically. Antioxidant activity and functional groups in the extracts were characterised by 2.2- diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively.ResultsCarbohydrates were the most abundant (57.61±0.61 %), and crude lipids were the least abundant (4.26±0.20 %) in L. cornuta. Essential amino acids were present in varying concentrations, and histidine was the most abundant (251.20±2.00 mg/100 g dw). Calcium was the most abundant mineral element (820.49±1.05 µg/g dw). High concentrations of phenols (13.07±0.60 %) and low amounts of saponins (2.19±0.10 %) were recorded. Methanolic and aqueous leaf extracts revealed total phenols of 83.10±4.32 and 57.77 ±1.65 mgGAE/g dw, respectively, while total flavonoids were 8.00±0.01 and 7.99±0.03 mgCE/g of dry weight, respectively. Aqueous extract had significant DPPH radical scavenging efficacy (IC50 =72.96± 0.32 µg/ml) compared to 681.57± 2.21 jg/ml for methanol extract.ConclusionsL. cornuta contain phytochemicals with health benefits for averting oxidative stress related diseases.© 2023 Onyancha JM et al.

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