Effects of cooking methods on antioxidant properties and carotenoids contents of Moringa oleifera Lam. pods
Abstract
Moringa oleifera Lam. is a plant grown in tropical and subtropical regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Thailand it is called “Maroom”. Moringa pods have been commonly consumed as a vegetable in Thai cuisine named sour soup or “Kaeng Som”. Health benefit of Moringa pods have been revealed including the ability to suppress a colitis-related colon carcinogenesis and can serve as a chemopreventive agent. This study aimed to compare antioxidant properties including total phenolic content (TPC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (DPPH), and carotenoids contents namely β-carotene and lutein between boiled and steamed Moringa pods. Fresh pods were washed with tap water and cut into pieces about 3-inch long. Pod pieces were subjected to boil or steam for 15 min. After cooling at room temperature, flesh and seeds of the cooked pods were removed from the peels by hand, placed in laminated aluminum foil bags and kept at -20 ºC for further analyses. Fresh flesh and seeds without cooking were used as a control. Three replications were performed on three markets. The results showed that both cooking methods had significantly greater antioxidant properties (TPC, ORAC, DPPH), and β-carotene and lutein contents compared to the sample without cooking. When compared between two cooking methods, steaming provided higher TPC and DPPH, while there was no difference in ORAC. It was noticed that β-carotene and lutein contents of boiled pods were significantly higher than those of the steamed samples. Therefore, boiling would be selected as a cooking method to prepare Moringa pods for further study in development of food products containing Moringa pods for health benefits.References
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