Abstract

The study investigated and evaluated the influence of the inclusion of varying proportion of Andrographis paniculata leaf flour on the antioxidant properties, anti-oxidative activities and phytochemical properties of wheat-pearl millet- Andrographis paniculata leaf flour blends and the values of these quality parameters are used to predict the blends functionalities. The flour blends were prepared using whole wheat flour, whole pearl millet flour, and A. paniculata leaf flour. The recommended combination ratio (50:50) of wheat and pearl millet flour was adopted as the blending baseline while graded levels of A. paniculata leaf flour of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% were respectively included in the blending baseline to obtain wheat-pearl millet-Andrographis panniculata flour blends. In the formulation, the inclusion of A. paniculata leaf flour was carried out to replace the wheat and pearl millet flour respectively on equal basis. Each flour blends was evaluated for phytochemical properties, antioxidant properties and anti-oxidative activities. The oxalate content of the raw material flour ranged from 9.27mg/g in PMF to 15.85mg/g in APLF, while the value ranged from 7.74mg/g in WPMAPLF3 blend to 9.81mg/g in WPMAPLF4 blend. Tannin content of the raw material flours and flour blends ranged from 0.32 mg/g in WF to 1.91 mg/g in APLF, and from ranged from 0.43mg/g in WPMF blend to 0.84mg/g in WPMAPLF5 blend. Phytate content for the raw material flours ranged from 0.03mg/g in PMF to 0.08mg/g in APLF, while the phytate content of the flour blends ranged from 0.04mg/g in WPMAPLF1 to 0.06mg/g in WPMAPLF4, and 0.06mg/g in WPMAPLF5, respectively. The alkaloid value was observed to increase as the level of inclusion of the leaf increased from 2% to 4%, and gradually start decreasing from 6% to 10% inclusion. The free radical scavenging capacity of the flour blends against, 1,1-Diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2-Azino-bis (3- ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and FRAP was observed to increase as the percentage of A. paniculata leaf inclusion increased. The antioxidant activities and free radical scavenging abilities of the flour blend samples were observed to increase as the percentage of inclusion of Andrographis paniculata leaf flour increased. Consequently, the formulated flour blends made from Wheat, pearl Millet and Andrographis paniculata exhibited good free radical scavenging ability against DPPH^●, OH ^●, and FRAP. The antioxidant and phytochemical composition observed among the flour blends posit a viable staple possessing some predictive health benefiting potentials and healthy food functionality which could be exploited as preventive or curative food therapy against chronic diseases.