Comparative Study on Antioxidant Capacity and Biochemical Composition in Local Lotus Species Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn in Central Vietnam

In this study, six varieties of white and red lotus plants were collected from different places in central Vietnam, such as Hue and Da Nang cities. This research aims to determine and compare the activities of antioxidant enzymes of superoxide dismutase, catalase, lipid peroxidase, reduced glutathione, and Vitamin C in different parts of lotus. It was found that all parts of the lotus possessed antioxidant activities. Seedpods, plumules and seeds had the strongest antioxidant activities in most antioxidant enzyme activities assays; or contained the highest reduced glutathione, the lowest lipid peroxidation, or the highest Vitamin C content. This finding confirmed the widely usage of seeds and plumules in cuisine and traditional medicine. However, seedpods were usually discarded waste in both cuisine and folk medicine, this finding would suggest more research on the antioxidant potentials of this agricultural waste. When comparing activities amongst varieties, both three red lotuses from Hue and Da Nang had stronger antioxidant activities than white lotuses collected at the same locations. On nutritional analysis, TAW had the best nutrition values with the highest total nitrogen, lipid and reducing sugars content. In traditional Asian medicine, lotus parts are used to treat diseases. From these results, seeds, seedpods and plumules of lotus were very good sources of antioxidant medicinal herbs.