EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ATTRIBUTES OF ORANGE (CITRUS SINENSISL.)

Phytochemicals are gaining unprecedented recognition as cardinal food constituentsto effectively mitigate rampant scenario of chronic, degenerative diseases. This study attempted to explore the antioxidant attributes of Orange (Citrus sinensisL.) in three categories: nutrient antioxidants  estimation i.e. vitamin C and β-carotene,  phytochemical quantification  i.e. total phenols and flavonoids, and in vitro antioxidant assays expressed in terms of DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydracyl) radical scavenging assay, ABTS (2,2'-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical scavenging assay and FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power) assay. To undertake latter two prospects, aqueous-organic extracts were prepared from fresh orange sample. Results revealed the fruit to be rich in nutrient- and phytochemical-associated antioxidant potential, mean values of vitamin C, β-carotene, total phenols, total flavonoids, DPPH assay, ABTS assay and FRAP assay being noted as 14.84±0.23 mg/100g, 182.93±5.84 µg/100g, 81.42±7.47 mg GAE/100g, 11.35±0.99 mg CE/100g, 61.01±2.61 mg TE/100g, 96.92±6.05 mg TE/100g and 62.77±0.94 mg FeSO4/100g respectively, and therefore validate it to be a novel dietary agent as an antidote to chronic diseases linked with oxidative stress.