IMPACT OF PROCESSING ON PROXIMATE COMPOSITION AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF MUCUNA SANJAPPAE SEEDS: A FUNCTIONAL FOOD

Abstract

Mucuna sanjappae seeds are conventionally used as food and medicine in the Western Ghats of India. It possesses good nutritional value with higher level of anti-Parkinson’s drug L-DOPA (10.81 g/100g). But, presence of anti-nutritional compounds hardens its preferential use as a food of choice. In the present study, the effect of various commonly used processing methods (soaking, autoclaving, roasting, soaking plus autoclaving and soaking plus roasting) on L-DOPA, nutritional, anti-nutritional factors, antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay) and anti-inflammatory activity was determined. RP-HPLC analysis of processed MS beans showed significant reduction of L-DOPA (p<0.001) due to various treatments among which soaking (2.91±0.09 g/100g) and soaking plus autoclaving (1.10±0.08 g/100g) was most effective treatments. DPPH radical scavenging activity was significantly reduced after the processing treatment (p<0.001) and showed maximum reduction in soaking plus autoclaving process (81.741±0.596 % to 44.311±0.69%). In contrast, FRAP assay does not showed significant decrease (p>0.05) in activity. Anti-inflammatory activity (BSA anti-denaturation assay and HRBC membrane stabilization activity) was also found to be decreasing after processing of M. sanjappae (MS) seeds (p<0.001). This paper has thoroughly given the effect of processing on nutritional value, anti-nutritional compounds, antioxidant potential and has first time reported anti-inflammatory activity of M. sanjappae seeds.