Pharmacognostical standardization, antioxidant capability, and phytocompound separation from fruit peels

Plant-based products and their derivatives play a key role in fulfilling the nutritional requirements. In the current analysis, determination of pharmacognostical standards, antioxidant potential, and separation of phytoconstituents via thin layer chromatography (TLC) from pomegranate, apple, banana, mousambi, and kinu peels were carried out. Microscopic studies showed the presence of wood fibers, annular xylem vessels, crystals, trichomes, and wood fibers in the fruit peels. Physicochemical investigations revealed low (7.05%-8.30%) moisture content in all fruit peels. The total ash content of fruit peels varied from apple peels (1.31±0.51) to the peels of banana (19.64±0.98). The amount of acid-insoluble ash varied from 1.31±0.51 to 3.01±0.59 in kinu and banana. Kinu peel has the lowest content of water-soluble ash (1.16±1.90) in comparison to other peels. The greatest pH value was observed in the peels of apple (6.36±0.20), whereas the lowest pH was observed in the peels of kinu (5.10±0.10). The fluorescence analysis showed different colors under varied chemical treatments. Among all extracts, the aqueous extract has reported the highest yield (27.28±0.03). Various types of pri-secondary constituents were observed in small, moderate, and high amounts and notified to provide numerous health inputs to humans. In the DPPH assay, methanol extract of pomegranate has shown the lowest value of IC50 (344.32 μg/ml) as compared to the standard, indicating the greater antioxidant potential of the extract. Among all the extracts, methanol and aqueous extracts of pomegranate have shown better reducing and total antioxidant activity as compared to the standard. TLC profiling of chloroform extract of mousami and kinu peels revealed the presence of different compounds of variable Rf values. The above outcomes showcase that the fruit waste comprises valuable compounds and may be used as a cheap and noticeable source in pharmaceuticals for the cure of various critical ailments.