Journal of Environmental Biology

Quantification of phenolic acids and antioxidant potential of inbred, hybrid and composite cultivars of maize under different

nitrogen regimes 

Arshid Hussain Ganie¹, Peerzada Yasir Yousuf¹, Amjid Ahad², Renu Pandey³, Sayeed Ahmad⁴, Ibrahim M Aref⁵,

Jewel Jameeta Noor⁶ and Muhammad Iqbal^1*

¹Molecular Ecology Lab, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110 062, India

²Lipid Metabolism Lab, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110 062, India

³Division of Plant Physiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India

⁴Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110 062, India

⁵Department of Plant Production, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh-11451, Saudi Arabia

6Regional Centre for Biotechnology, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad - 121 001, India

*Corresponding Author E-mail: iqbalg5@yahoo.co.in

Publication Data

Paper received:

20 August 2015

Revised received:

30 December 2015 

Re-revised received:

09 February 2016

Accepted:

10 May 2016

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a multipurpose crop, which is immensely used worldwide for its nutritional as well as medicinal properties. This study evaluates the effect of varying concentrations of nitrogen (N) on accumulation of phenolic acids and antioxidant activity in different maize cultivars, including inbreds, hybrids and a composite, which were grown in natural light under controlled temperature (30?C/20?C D/N) and humidity (80%), with sufficient (4.5mM) and low (0.05mM) nitrogen supply. Seeds of different cultivars were powdered and extracted in a methanol:water (80:20) mixture through reflux at 60-75?C, and the extracts obtained were subjected to high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), using ethyl acetate: acetic acid: formic acid: water (109:16:12:31) solvent system for the separation of phenolic acids. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and H2O2-scavenging activity assays. At sufficient nitrogen condition, the contents of different phenolic acids were higher in the composite cultivar (8.7 mg g-1 d.wt. in gallic acid to 39.3 mg g-1 d.wt. in cinnamic and salicylic acids) than in inbreds and hybrids. Under low nitrogen condition, the phenolic acids contents declined significantly in inbreds and hybrids, but remained almost unaffected in the composite. The antioxidant activity was also the maximum in the composite, and declined similarly as phenolic acids under low nitrogen supply, showing a significant reduction in inbreds and hybrids only. Therefore, the maize composite has a potential for being used as a nutraceutical in human-health sector. 

 Key words

Antioxidant activity, Free radicals, HPTLC, Maize cultivars, N fertilization

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