Fatimae Ituralde Mariano

Citrus fruits were the most consumed fruits during the COVID-19 pandemic because of its health benefits. The peels from citrus fruits are rich in bioactive compounds than the commonly consumed juice or pulp. This study aims to utilize the discarded peels, converting them to value added products. The main objective of this study is to determine the peels’ antioxidant and anti-arthritic potential. With current arthritis treatment causing different side effects, natural products are promising alternatives. The antioxidant activity was determined using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and nitric oxide radical scavenging assay. Anti-arthritic activity used protein denaturation and proteinase inhibition assay. Phytochemical study revealed that citrus peels still contain high amounts of flavonoids, a bioactive compound contributing to antioxidant and anti-arthritic activities. In the DPPH assay, the 500ug/mL exhibited higher antioxidant activity while in the nitric oxide scavenging assay, the lowest concentration (5ug/mL) exhibited the highest activity. This means that the lowest concentration already has significant antioxidant activity. In the anti-arthritic activity assays, lower concentration (5ug/mL) of the extracts was also found to have good anti-arthritic activities both in the protein denaturation and proteinase inhibition assay. Hence, the citrus peel wastes have significant antioxidant and anti-arthritic activity in vitro. The correlation between flavonoid content antioxidant and anti-arthritic activities proved that flavonoids may be responsible for the two activities.

DOI: 10.22271/phyto.2023.v12.i6d.14800

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