Antioxidant properties and toxicity of selected bamboo shoots "iwung" extract: a comparative study

This study aims to compare the nutritional, antioxidant properties, and toxicity of various bamboo shoots extract. Physicochemical, total phenolics content, total flavonoids content, antioxidant activity (IC₅₀) and toxicity were analyzed. Folin-Ciocalteau assay and aluminum chloride assay were used to determine the total phenolics and total flavonoid content, respectively. The antioxidant activity determined by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging assay. Moreover, the toxicity of bamboo shoots extract was determined by brine shrimp lethality bioassay (LC₅₀). The results showed that bamboo shoots, viz., betung, gombong, buluh, and kuning, are rich in minerals of zinc, iron, and potassium. The ethanolic extract of buluh shoots (BUS) contained the highest total phenolics (27.83 mg GAE/g) followed by KUS > GOS > BES. Bamboo betung shoots extract (BES) is found to have the highest total flavonoids (2.49 mg QE/g) with a ratio of TTF/TP) which is 0.17. Meanwhile, the DPPH assay (IC₅₀) showed that IC₅₀ of KUS (347.48 μg/mL) was lowest. Based on these values, KUS is found to have the highest antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the level toxicity of LC₅₀, BES, BUS, and KUS extract is valued as cytotoxic. These results provide useful data about the nutritional, phytochemical, and toxicity of bamboo shoots for functional food purposes.