Assessment of the Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Activities of Two Different Solvent Extracts of Potato Peels

2 Abstract: In this study, total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined in water and ethanol extracts of potato peels. The antioxidant activity of potato peel extracts was evaluated using different biochemical assays, including total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH radical scavenging, nitric oxide scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and metal ion chelating activities. GC-MS analysis was performed to identify the phenolic compounds present in the ethanol extract. The results showed that water extract contained significantly (P<0.05) high amount of total phenolics (40.95±0.10 mg/g potato peels) while ethanol extract contained high content of flavonoids (15.63±1.71 mg/g potato peels). The ethanol potato peel extract (EPPE) showed higher antioxidative and radical scavenging activity in comparison with water potato peel extract (WPPE). Five phenolic compounds were identified in ethanol extract by GC-MS. The results indicated that potato peel extracts could be a potential source of natural antioxidants for food applications.