Muhammad Nadeem AsgharMuhammad ShafiqIram NadeemMuhammad AshfaqSammia Shahid2013-03-202013-03-202013Nutrition & Food Science Vol. 43 No. 2, 2013https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/728Purpose – The cowpea plant, being affordable and protein-rich, is considered poor man’s meat. The aim of this paper is to undertake a detailed investigation regarding in vitro total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and chemical constituents of the vegetable oils from seeds of this plant, taking its nutritional value into consideration. Design/methodology/approach – Vegetable oils of different indigenous cowpea varieties were obtained using soxhelt extraction assembly and subjected to GC-MS analyses and various antioxidant assays including 2,20-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulpohonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging, ferr, 2.20-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging, total phenolic contents (TPC), lipid peroxidation inhibition, and iron chelation activity. Findings – Various chemical constituents including different hydrocarbons, tocopherols, ketones, fatty esters, estragole and cedrene were identified. TPCs were found to be 5.439, 5.7279, 7.6126, 6.7573 and 10.0591 mg/L gallic acid equivalent for S.A. Dandy, Elite, White Star, CP-386 and FBD Rawan varieties, respectively. Employing ABTS radical decoloration assay a significant linear correlation (R 2 ¼ 0.997, 0.996, 0.997, 0.996 and 0.997 for S.A. Dandy, Elite, White Star, CP-386 and FBD Rawan varieties, respectively) was found between the percent inhibition of ABTS radical cation and the amount of vegetable oils. The percent inhibition of the Fe(II)-Ferrozine complex formation was found to be 29.45, 53.76, 82.91, 86.59 and 57.87 for the same varieties, respectively. Originality/value – GC-MS and standard in vitro antioxidative capacity analyses data clearly demonstrated the potency of the cowpea as antioxidant and radical scavenger plant which may be used as a good source of natural antioxidants. The plant seeds may prove a better and cost-effective substitute of expensive food items.enGC-MS, CowpeaTPCAntioxidantLipid PeroxidationABTSVegetable OilsArticle