Abstract

The antioxidant capacity of different fermented Beta vulgaris root extracts and unfermented Beta vulgaris root extracts were checked in order to find out their nutraceutical potential. Unfermented Beta vulgaris (UBV) extracts were prepared using three different solvents (distilled water, methanol and petroleum ether). Fermented Beta vulgaris was prepared using two different types of lactobacillus species (Lactobacillus plantarum P108 and Lactobacillus acidophilus P110). The effects of fermentation on Beta vulgaris in terms of total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activities and DNA damage protection were investigated. The antioxidant activities of fermented Beta vulgaris (FBV) and unfermented Beta vulgaris (UBV) were determined by different standard methods. We evaluated the antioxidant activity of the aqueous and methanolic extract of the roots of Beta vulgaris by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging assay, Superoxide anion scavenging assay (SASA). The results showed that, FBV extracts compared to UBV extracts possessed more TPC, and had higher ABTS radical scavenging activity, higher radical scavenging activity using DPPH method and SASA method. Also, FBV exhibited greater protection against oxidative DNA damage induced by Bleomycin. Additionally, FBV using Lactobacillus acidophilus P110 had higher TPC, antioxidant activities than fermented Beta vulgaris using Lactobacillus Planatrum P108. Although, the methanolic extract was more efficient than aqueous extract from UBV and FBV .The petroleum ether was not efficient and strong in the extraction process. The results suggested that FBV with enhanced antioxidant capacity could provide a functional Beta vulgaris to contribute to the health and nutritional status improvement of consumers, demonstrating the potential for industrial applications.