Antioxidant activity of horn-eyed ghost crab (Ocypode brevicornis) from foreshore estate, southeast coast of India

Abstract

In recent decades, the shift from synthetic to natural food antioxidants has fostered interest in finding the sources and the screening of inexpensive raw materials for consumption. Exogenous antioxidants are those which are derived from plants and animal sources through diet. Ghost crab Ocypode brevicornis is a species of ghost crab which has a box-shaped carapace and is called the sand scavenger. They are an important biodiversity species native to the Indian Ocean. They are usually found in the intertidal zones. The crab is loaded with high antioxidant properties, which could necessarily replace the expensive synthetic ones. Hence, the objective of the study was to determine the antioxidant potential in the muscle tissues of ghost crabs. The samples were dissected for performing various non-enzymatic antioxidant assays. The data obtained were represented in graphs and table, which show the higher antioxidant activity of DPPH – Radical Scavenging Assay with IC 50 value of 12.76 µg/mL and in Deoxyribose degradation assay with IC 50 value of 15.93 µg/mL. The findings of the study implicate that ghost crabs can be consumed as habitual seafood and play an important role as a bioindicator for human-induced disturbances.