Evaluation of the nutritional and antioxidant potentialities of Capparis corymbosa

The study was undertaken with the objective of contributing to the search for new sources of dietary antioxidants. It aimed to assess the dietary potential, bioactive compound levels and antioxidant activities of the leaves and fruits of Capparis corymbosa, a plant food from Burkina Faso. Standard methods were used to assess the nutritional potential of leaves and fruits as well as the levels of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of leaf and fruit fractions. Levels of total sugar were 765.40 ± 134.67 mg/100 g for leaves and 2208.65 ± 194.55 mg/100 g for fruits. Protein levels were 22.722 ± 0.95 mg/100 g for leaves and 13.442 ± 0.91 mg/100 g for fruits. Both organs also had interesting contents of minerals and essential amino acids. Total phenolic levels ranged from 18.36 ± 0.90 g GAE/100 g to 16.46 ± 1.15 g GAE/100 g for leaves and from 4.58 ± 0.15 g GAE/100 g to 1.03 ± 0.31 g GAE/100 g for fruits while those of flavonoids ranged from 2.83 ± 0.23 g EQ/100 g to 2.08 ± 0.25 g EQ/100 g and from 1.78 ± 0.25 g EQ/100 g to 0.93 ± 0.41 mg EQ/100 mg, respectively for leaves and fruits. The butanol extraction fractions had the highest levels of polyphenols of both organs. Monitoring antioxidant activities using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS models showed that leaves and fruits displayed high antioxidant activities but leaves had higher antioxidant activities than the fruits. Antioxidant activity was correlated with total phenolic levels. These results reveal that C. corymbosa is an important source of phytonutrients, bioactive compounds and has good antioxidant activity and is therefore an alternative for the fight against diseases linked to oxidative stress and as a food supplement.   Key words: Capparis corymbosa, micronutrients, macronutrients, antioxidant activity, oxidative stress.