Antioxidant activity of fresh and processed bore (Alocasia macrorrhiza), guasca (Galinsoga parviflora) and nopal (Opuntia ficus indica) as potential edible plants

Background: Exploring sustainable food alternatives is crucial for aligning with current dietary guidelines. Dietary polyphenols found in fruits and vegetables, have shown promising potential for disease prevention. This study evaluates leaves of plants bore ( Alocasia macrorrhiza) , guasca ( Galinsoga parviflora ) and nopal ( Opuntia ficus indica ) using different leave treatment and analytical methods. Methods : Total Polyphenol Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC), and Antioxidant Activity were tested in fresh, boiled and dehydrated leaves. Results : Bore ( Alocasia macrorrhiza ) showed the highest TPC 186.18 GAE mg/100 g in the dehydrated state followed by dehydrated nopal ( Opuntia ficus indica ) 100.01 mg GAE/100 g and dehydrated guasca ( Galinsoga parviflora ) 53.38 mg GAE/100 g. Regarding TFC, the dehydrated bore ( Alocasia macrorrhiza ) also led with the highest value of 57.39 mg QE/100 g. Concerning antioxidant activity, dehydrated bore ( Alocasia macrorrhiza ) showed the highest antioxidant percentage 95.25%, followed by its fresh sample 64.31%. Regarding methods dehydration yielded the highest values but not necessary related to highest flavonoid/polyphenol ratio. Conclusion : These results confirm that these plants after dehydration, mainly bore ( Alocasia macrorrhiza ), still show effective antioxidant potential, positioning them as a promising functional food to be conserved in different forms of to be eaten fresh.