# _Beta vulgaris_ subsp. _maritima_: A Valuable Food with High Added Health Benefits
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant Capacity  
The antioxidant properties of phenolic and flavonoid compounds in food are well-known. Plants with high phenolic components can be a great source of antioxidants [30]. Numerous studies have linked low antioxidant capacity, free radicals, and other reactive oxygen species to oxidative stress and the development of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, aging, and cancer [31]. As a result, antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and subsequently certain chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Despite the effectiveness of synthetic molecules, their use has presented undesirable side effects on health [32]. As a result, secondary metabolites derived from medicinal plants could provide a safe antioxidant potential. For these reasons, the antioxidant properties of aqueous and methanolic extracts prepared from _B.v. sub maritima_ leaves were evaluated using four complementary, in vitro assays based on different mechanisms, including free radical scavenging assays (DPPH\({}^{\bullet}\) and ABTS+\(\bullet\)), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP), and ferrous ions' (Fe\({}^{2+}\)) chelating activity. The scavenging effects of both the radical scavenging assays DPPH\(\bullet\) and ABTS+\(\bullet\) were expressed by IC\({}_{50}\), as shown in Table 2. On both radical scavenging assays, both methanol and aqueous extracts showed significant, very outstanding antioxidant activity, at \(p<0.05\). The methanol extract had the highest activity in the DPPH radical scavenging assay, with an IC\({}_{50}\) of 0.919 mg/mL, compared to the IC\({}_{50}\) of 1.789 mg/mL in the aqueous extract. The leaves' methanol extract had the highest capacity to quench ABTS\({}^{+}\) with an IC\({}_{50}\) of 1.218 mg/mL, whereas the aqueous extract had an IC\({}_{50}\) of 1.551 mg/mL in the ABTS assay. These findings are consistent with previous research that found _Beta vulgaris_ genus subsp. _maritima_, var. _cicla_ to have high antioxidant activity [33; 34]. The antioxidant properties of the methanolic extract can be attributed to its high phenolic content. As a result of this research, the radical scavenging capacity of each extract may be related to its polyphenol concentration. Furthermore, the transition metal ion Fe\({}^{2+}\) is the most potent lipid oxidation pro-oxidant, and higher levels of ferrous ions contribute to oxidative damage, which can lead to a variety of diseases in humans. As a result, determining the antioxidant activity of plant extracts was considered necessary. Table 3 shows that the aqueous extract had higher metal chelating activity than the methanolic extract, with an IC\({}_{50}\) of 0.484 mg/mL compared to 0.739 mg/mL for the methanolic extract. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Phenolic Compounds** & **Aqueous Extract** & **Methanolic Extract** \\
**mg/100 g dw** & & \\ \hline Hydroxycinamic acids & & \\ Caffe acid & 0.61 & ND \\ P-coum acid & 0.49 & 0.49 \\ Hydroxybenzoic acids & & \\ Salicylic acid & 758.52 & ND \\ Syringic acid & 2.16 & ND \\ Gallic acid & ND & ND \\ \(p\)-hydroxybenzoic acid & 0.58 & ND \\ Flavonoids & & \\ Hesperidin & 189.07 & 68.82 \\ Naringinin & 5.28 & 11.12 \\ Rutin & 47.86 & ND \\ Terpernes & & \\ Thymoquinone & 0.57 & 16.48 \\ Limonene & ND & ND \\ \hline dw: dry weight. ND: Not Detected. & & \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Major phenolic compounds identified in _Beta vulgaris_ subsp. _maritima_ extract by HPLC. In the FRAP assay, antioxidants in extracts influence the reduction of Fe\({}^{3+}\)/Ferricyanide complex to ferrous form [35]. Table 3 shows the results of the ferric reducing antioxidant power assay of _Beta vulgaris_ subsp. _martiima_ extracts as ascorbic acid equivalents. Compared to the aqueous extracts (98.498 mg EA/g dw), the results obtained revealed the highest reducing power in methanolic extract (300.057 mg EA/g dw). Our result is not in line with the results obtained on the essential oil from the aerial parts of _B. vulgaris_ subsp.