Extraction and characterization of phytochemicals from cocos nucifera sprouts and its therapeutic applications
Abstract
The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) produces seeds that exhibit a wide range of phytochemicals and have been shown to hold therapeutic and nutraceutical benefits. Phytochemical profile and biological activities of fresh and dried extracts of coconut sprouts prepared using aqueous, methanolic and dimethyl ether solvents were investigated in the present study. The qualitative phytochemical screening indicated the presence of various bioactive secondary metabolites in all the extracts with the highest phytochemical profile, being the aqueous extract of fresh sprouts which contained alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, quinones and proteins. The antibacterial activity of the extracts was tested by agar well diffusion method against various test pathogens. The antibacterial activity of the tested extracts showed that the aqueous extract exhibited the most inhibitory effect with a maximum zone of inhibition of 22.0 ± 1.80 mm against Enterobacter spp. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was also performed and the most effective antibacterial activity was noted with Enterobacter spp. (MIC = 0.625 µg/ml). The antioxidant assays such as total antioxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity and nitric oxide scavenging activity showed positive activity in a concentration-dependent manner and reached an inhibition value of nearly 90% at higher concentrations of extracts. The aqueous extract was also found to be significantly anti-inflammatory in nature with antiprotein denaturation activity. Functional groups and bioactive metabolites were identified by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis, including mainly fatty acids and their related metabolites which could potentially be responsible for the observed biological activities. Based on these results, C. nucifera sprouts could be a good source of bioactive compound with potential applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and functional food industries.