FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS OF THE COCONUT HAUSTORIUM (Cocos nucifera) TIMOTHY M. ZAGADA B.S. Nutrition Student, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños College, Laguna 4031 Philippines

Antioxidant activity in foods has been suggested to have protective effects against chronic diseases in humans. This paper gives information about the functionality of the antioxidants that are found in the Coconut haustorium (Cocos nucifera) using the method suggested by the Institute of Plant Breeding Manual by Rodriguez et.al., The mean (all in mg/100g ) of total phenols was determined with 102.87, Flavonoids with 167.88, and Saponins with the largest observed mean 8051.86 and the total antioxidant activity has a mean of 89.36 . Results show that phenols deviate by 17.34, flavonoids by 18.43 and saponins by 702.5. The antioxidant activity also deviated from its mean only by 2.99 or only 10% (CV). No tannins and alkaloids were detected.

The results of the functional components were correlated with the antioxidant

activity by computation of the correlation coefficient (r). Phenols obtain an r value of 0.48, flavonoids with 0.68 and the highest was saponins with 0.81 which has the strongest relationship to the antioxidant activity.

INTRODUCTION

The tenet "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," espoused by Hippocrates nearly 2,500 years ago, is receiving renewed interest. In particular, there has been an explosion of consumer interest in the health enhancing role of specific foods or physiologically-active food components, so-called functional foods, according to their generally accepted definition, are "any food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains" (Hasler, 1998).

Antioxidants are compounds that protect cells against the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen, superoxide, peroxyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite (Buhler, 1962). Antioxidants may be considered functional by virtue of having potential for such actions as anti cancer and anti cardiovascular-disease effects or being modifiers of oxidative damage and defence mechanisms (Fore, 2000).

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants other than vitamin C and E, B-Carotene. Dietary intake of fruits, vegetables and their constituents, which are potent effectors of biological systems in humans, has been suggested to have protective effects against chronic diseases (Agarwal & Rao, 2000).

The Coconut (Cocos nucifera) haustorium is the embryo plant grows into the inside of the nut to make an organ of spongy tissue ("apple" or "sucker"). It commences to develop at the start of germination when the shoot or roots have not yet emerged through the husk. It takes about 4 months to expand to almost fill the cavity of the nut, except in very large nuts. It transfers nutrients from the endosperm to the young seedling. ((IFAS), 2000). Since the “apple” is slightly sweet and slightly oily with a cotton wool-like texture, it is usually placed in one side for eating. In places where coconuts grow, children walking to school may grasp the leaves of a sprouted seednut and uproot it. Still holding it by the leaves, they swing it against the trunk of the nearest mature palm to split the husk and crack open the shell. Then they pick out and eat the “apple” (Harries, 1994). The Haustorium is used as a major ingredient of the “Minatamis na

Functional Components of the Coconut Haustorium

Tumbong” and is also cooked as a vegetable (Martin 1999). The Haustorium is also shown to possess many active enzymes; among them are cellulases, lipases and proteinases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection of samples A geminating coconut seed from the local market of Los Baños was obtained with the aid of the coconut vendor to determine the presence of the Haustorium. The Coconut was free from parasites and pests with the husk firm and nut punctured. Preparation of Samples

The germinating coconut seed is cut into half using a bolo without damaging the haustorium. It was then separated from the seed by slowly wedging it with a spoon. The Haustorium was chopped and diced as preparation for the masceration process. Treatment and Variables

In the extraction process, five grams of the haustorium was needed per replicate then placed inside a mortar. Twenty ml of methanol was then added and was mascerated for 15 minutes. The mixture was filtered to gain an extract about 5-8 m to be placed in vials. The extraction process was repeated six times representing the number of trials or replicates. The functional components; phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and alkaloids served as the dependent variable and the independent variable were the samples or replicates.

Chemical Analyses

Procedure of the chemical analysis followed the method suggested by the Institute of Plant Breeding Manual by Rodriguez et.al with slight modifications. Total Phenols

1. Obtain 0.20 ml of the extract 2. Add 2.80 ml of distilled water 3. Add 1ml of 0.2M Na2CO3 4. Add 0.20 ml of Folin Ciocalteus reagent 5. Heat in boiling H20 bath for 15 min. 6. Cool to room temperature. 7. Get Trans reading at 710nm.

Flavonoid 1. Get o.50ml of the xtract 2. Add 4.50ml of distilled H20 3. Add 0.20ml of F-C reagent. 4. Add 0.50ml of saturated Na2CO3 5. Vortex mix for 15 seconds 6. Add 4.3ml of distilled H2O. 7. Mix and let to stand at room temperature for

an hour. 8. Get Trans reading at 725nm Tannins 1. Obtain 0.5ml of the extract. 2. Add 3.0ml of 1% Vanillin reagent. 3. Stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. 4. Get Trans reading at 500nm. Saponins 1. Do the extraction process with ethanol as the

solvent. 2. Pass 2.5ml of the extract in the PVPP

column (Polyvinylpolypyrollidone) which was soaked in distilled water overnight.

3. Get 0.50ml of the passed extract and put in a separate test tube.

4. Add 0.50 ml of acetic HAC to the extract. 5. Add 3.0ml of L-B reagent (Lieberman-

Buchard). 6. Heat at 90-100C for 30 minutes. 7. Cool to room temperature. 8. Get Trans Reading at 450nm. Alkaloids 1. Get 2ml of the extract. 2. Add 10ml of 1% Hydrochloric acid 3. Add 5.0 ml of concentrated ammonia and

transfer into a 50-ml separatory funnel. 4. Extract thrice with CHCL3 at 10ml each

time. 5. Combine extract and pass in a sodium

sulfate column. 6. Evaporate extracts. 7. Add 2.0ml 1% HCL and 1.0ml CHCL3. Antioxidant Activity (AOA) 1. Get 2ml of extract. 2. Add 2ml of phosphate buffer. 3. Add 2ml KFe(CN)6 and put in water bath at

50C for 20 minutes. 4. Add 2.5ml of 10% TCA. 5. Add 2.0ml of distilled water. 6. Add 0.5ml of FeCl3 7. Get Trans reading at 500nm.

Functional Components of the Coconut Haustorium

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Functional components and AOA of the coconut haustorium. Table 1.Functional components and AOA of the coconut haustorium

The mean phenolic content of the coconut Haustorium is 102.87 mg/100g which is relatively higher compared to other fruits like watermelon (64), cherry (41), pineapple (67) and is relatively closer to avocado (101). All were based on the study by Vinson, et.al entitled “Phenol Antioxidant Quantity and Quality in Foods: Fruits”. According to BRAVO (1998), the presence of polyphenols in plant foods is greatly influenced by genetic factors, environmental conditions, degree of ripeness, variety, etc.

Flavonoid was also present and the obtained mean value was 167.88mg/100g. According to Torel (1986), The antioxidant efficiency of Flavonoids depends on: a) their concentration wherein an increase in the concentration from 1 to 100ug/ml, increases the antioxidant efficiency of Flavonoids, and b) the degree of saturation of the fatty acid such that an increase in the unsaturation results in a decrease of the antioxidant efficiency.

The value obtained from saponins was 702.50mg/100g. Coconut oil is used in the manufacture of soaps, detergents, and shampoos because it has high levels of lauric acid, an ingredient that gives soap a quick-lathering property and also due to its hardness, ready stability, and free leathering properties of the sodium soaps made with it (Technonet, 1990). In the study conducted by Tiocson (2006), it was determined that the Haustorium contains large amounts of Lauric acid. According to Martin (1999) the haustorium is an active site of enzyme secretion, allowing the ready absorption of the

flesh including its oil reserves thus; it is manifested by the high saponins reading in the experiments’ results.

No observations were accounted for tannins and alkaloids which was manifested by the absence of turbidity during the experiment. According to Hagerman (2002), tannins have an astringent sensation which was not reflected by the coconut Haustorium. B. Standard Deviation and the Correlation of the Funtional Components to the Antioxidant Activity. Table 2. The mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient.

The standard deviation measures the

average deviation or the average distance of the observations from the mean of the data set. It is also a measure of dispersion and variability of the data. A small standard deviation in the experiment means that the results are close to the mean of the data which can be expressed in terms of accuracy or consistency of the results. The standard deviation for phenols was 17.34 which means that the result of the experiment deviates by 17.34 (102.87±17.34). The standard deviation computed for Flavonoids was 18.43 wherein the experiments’ results also deviate with a value of 18.43 (167.88±18.43).

The saponins exhibits the most deviation wherein there is 702.5 average distance from the mean (8051.86±702.5). The standard deviation becomes larger as the observations become more dispersed from the mean. The MAX and MIN values for the data obtained from the saponins analysis was 8814.39mg/100g and 7255.23mg/100g with a computed Range of 1559.16. Since all observations contribute to the computation, the higher the value of the observation, the higher is the standard deviation which was exhibited by the saponins.

The total Antioxidant activity of the haustorium obtained a standard deviation value of 2.99 therefore the results of the experiments

Functional Components of the Coconut Haustorium

deviates only by 2.99 from the mean (89.36±2.99) with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 10%

Correlation Analysis is a statistical technique used to determine the strength of the relationship between two variables. X and Y. It provides a measure of strength of the linear relationship between two variables measured in at least interval scale (Albacea, Reaño, Collado, Comia, Tandang 2005). The dependent variables are the functional components; Phenols, Flavonoids and Saponins and the independent variable was the total Antioxidant activity (AOA) from the haustorium. Tannins and alkaloids were not included in the correlation analysis since both have negative results in the experiment.

Computing for the correlation coefficient (r) of phenols, the result absolute value was 0.48 which means that there is a moderate strength of linear relationship, basing from the STAT 1 manual, UPLB (2005). The r2 gives the percentage of the total variation in the values of the dependent variable that is accounted for or explained by the independent variable. From the table above r2 value of phenols was 0.23 which means only 23% of the total variation of the antioxidant activity is explained by the amount of phenols.

For the Flavonoids, the computed coefficient of correlation was r=0.68 which means that there is a strong linear relationship between the Flavonoids and AOA.

The computed coefficient of correlation for saponins was r=0.87. The r2 value is equals to 0.81, thus, 81% of the Antioxidant activity was related to saponins which shows that there is a very strong linear relationship between Saponins and the AOA of the Haustorium.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The functional component of the coconut haustorium; total phenols, Flavonoids, saponins and the antioxidant activity were determined except for tannins and alkaloids which exhibited negative results due to the absence of turbidity in the experiment.

In terms of the tests’ accuracy and consistency the standard deviation was computed. Phenols have a standard deviation of 17.34. Flavonoids with 18.43, and Saponins with 702.5. The saponins showed a huge dispersion or deviation because of the high values of the data. However, the total Antioxidant activity of the

Haustorium showed a small value of deviation (2.99) and a coefficient of variation of 10%.

The functional component and the antioxidant activity were correlated using the coefficient of correlation (r). Phenols have a moderate strength of linear relationship to antioxidants (0.48). Flavonoids has a strong linear relationship (0.68) and saponins has the strongest linear relationship with the antioxidant activity (0.87).

In conclusion, the antioxidant activity (AOA) showed a low value of dispersion (Std dev of 89.36±2.99) which can be attributed to the accuracy of the experiment and saponins are most likely related to it with the strongest linear relationship.

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Functional Components of the Coconut Haustorium

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