Comprehensive Assessment of Brassica juncea variety rugosa (Pahari Rai) Accessions from the Sub-Himalayan Region: Phytochemical, Antioxidant, Enzymatic, Mineral, and Fatty Acid Profiling

Abstract Brassica juncea var. rugosa (Pahari rai), a broad leafy cruciferous vegetable is an essential and easy source of nutrition with numerous health-promoting factors. The phytochemical and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts showed the highest phenolic, flavonoid, ODP, and tannin content observed in the EEC-25 leaf methanolic extract. The highest protein content in EEC-25 followed by IC-524259 and IC-350800. The foremost concentration of carbohydrates was observed in germplasms IC-363758 (31.47±0.31 mg glucose g⁻¹), IC-410471 (31.12±0.18 mg glucose g⁻¹) and EEC-25 (26.45±0.19 mg glucose g⁻¹). In-vitro antioxidant potential viz., total antioxidant content was observed highest in EEC-25 methanolic leaf extract (41.91±0.28 mg AAE g⁻¹), FRAP activity in EEC-25 (5.91±0.68 mg AAE g⁻¹), maximum DPPH free radical scavenging activity in IC-597933 (IC₅₀=21.45±3.4 μg mL⁻¹), ABTS free radical scavenging activity in IC-524259 (94.17±0.48 μg mL⁻¹), superoxide radical scavenging activity of methanolic extract of PR-15 (IC₅₀=124.37 μg mL⁻¹), highest metal ion chelating activity of EEC-25 methanolic extract (IC₅₀=52.22 μg mL⁻¹), maximum reducing power activity in EEC-25 and IC-399839, all being significantly different (p≤0.05) from each other. Positive correlations have been observed among the total antioxidant, total phenolic, total flavonoid content, ODP, DPPH, and FRAP. Micronutrient analysis Pahari rai leaf was observed to be a rich source of essential minerals such as Mn, Fe, Zn, Ca, Cu, and Mg. Pahari rai was observed to be a rich source of MUFA and PUFA. An essential metric for assessing the nutritional value of various edible oils is the ω6:ω3 ratio was observed to be maximum in IC-350800 (2.53), IC-338535 (2.34), and IC-410471 (2.19). The multiutility of this leafy vegetable against numerous pathological ailments was attributed to the pharmacological activities of phytochemicals and to the development of functional food for human consumption.