Characterisation and antioxidant activity of sohphlang ( Flemingia vestita), a tuberous crop

This study aimed to assess the nutritional and antioxidant properties of sohphlang (Flemingia vestita), a tuber that is traditionally consumed in raw form in Meghalaya, a North-Eastern state of India. Cultivated sohphlang (CS) and market sohphlang (MS) flours were analysed for nutrient composition. The extracts of the flours from conventional-assisted-extraction (CAE), microwave-assisted-extraction (MAE) and ultrasound-assisted-extraction (UAE) were analysed for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activities (AA). CS flour exhibited good nutritional properties, TPC, TFC and AA than MS flour. Furthermore, MAE gave better extraction efficiency than UAE and CAE. HPLC results showed genistein as the predominant compound among the phenolic compounds identified that is comparable with soybean. Thus, tuber sohphlang that is eaten in raw form can serve as a versatile source of food and nutritional security to the people. The tuber also offers scope for exploiting its health benefitting functional ingredients.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Conventional; Isoflavones; Microwave; Sohphlang (Flemingia vestita); Ultrasound.