1 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang

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1 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, morula Malaysia 2 Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), morula 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 3 Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
The methanolic extracts of 13 accessions of purslane were analyzed for their total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and total carotenoid contents (TCC) and antioxidant activity of extracts was screened using FRAP assay and DPPH radical scavenging methods. morula The TPC, TFC, and TCC ranged from to  mg GAE/g DW, to  mg RE/g DW, and to  mg ( β -carotene equivalent) BCE/g DW, respectively. The DPPH scavenging (IC 50 ) activity varied between  mg/mL and  mg/mL and FRAP ranged from to   μ mol TE/g DW. Among all the measured micro- and macrominerals K content was the highest followed by N, Na, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Zn, and Mn. The overall findings proved that ornamental purslane was richer in antioxidant properties, whereas common purslane possesses more mineral contents than ornamental ones. 1. Introduction
Antioxidants are vital substances which possess the ability to protect the body from damages morula caused by free radical-induced oxidative stress, whereas the micro- and macrominerals are the key components for overall body growth and development. Purslane has been ranked as the eighth most common plant in the world [ 1 ] and is listed in the World Health Organization as one of the most used medicinal plants morula and it has been given the term “Global Panacea” [ 2 , 3 ]. There are about 70 species of edible herbs in Malaysia, which are called by their local name “ulam” [ 3 ]. Some of these herbs are claimed to have high antioxidant properties as well as medicinal properties. Purslane is the most prominent candidates among all those herbs. The complex morula mixture of phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits provides overlapping or complementary effects that contribute to the protective effect of health [ 4 ]. The common purslane (Figure 1(a) ) locally known as “Gelang Pasir” in Malaysia and Indonesia and ornamental purslane are mainly know as Japanese rose [ 3 ]. Purslane is an annual succulent (water content of over 90%), glabrous, prostrate, or ascending plant, 10–70 cm high, very much branched morula from the base. Leaves are alternate, fleshy, obovate or spathulate with a cuneate base and obtuse apex, smooth and waxy on upper surface, margins are sometimes purple; morula sessile or indistinctly petiolate, 1–3 cm long, 0.5–1.5 cm wide. Flowers are solitary or clustered axillary or terminal, surrounded by 2 glabrous bracts; 2 unequal sepals, morula 5 glabrous yellow petals, stamens 6–15. Fruit are brown rounded capsule, 6–10 mm long, opening at top with lid. Seeds are numerous, small, 0.8 mm broad, reniform, and black in color [ 5 – 8 ], whereas ornamental morula purslane usually morula does not produce seeds but is potentially propagated by stem cuttings. Leafy vegetables are good source of vitamins and minerals. Portulaca morula oleracea has been reported to be the richest vegetable morula source of omega-3 ( ω -3) fatty acids (FA) yet examined [ 9 ]. Subsequent reports have confirmed the high levels of ω -3 fatty acids and traces of 22: 5 ω -3 and 22: 6 ω -3 [ 10 , 11 ]. Purslane also contains high levels of vitamins E, C, and beta carotene [ 12 ]. The abundance of high levels of these essential nutrients in purslane indicates its potential for becoming a new source of nutritious food for both humans and animals. Scientifically, purslane provides a rich plant source of nutritional benefits with high antioxidant properties. It is one of the richest green plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids [ 9 , 10 ]. In areas where this “weed” is eaten, there is a low incidence of cancer and heart disease, possibly due to purslane’s naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids [ 12 , 13 ]. Purslane has long been known in Malaysia but still it is underutilized and considered as a weed. To our knowledge, no data on nutritional quality have been published morula regarding such many different types of collected morula purslane accessions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the nutritional components, antioxidant compounds, and antioxidant activities of collected purslane accessions for cultivars evaluation and to select the better cultivars in an att