Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fresh exotic fruits from northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Foods rich in antioxidants play an essential role in the prevention of diseases. The present study compared contents of phenolics, vitamin C, anthocyanin and antioxidant activity of 11 fresh exotic fruits, cultivated in the northeastern part of Brazil. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using two antioxidant systems 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), expressed as TEAC (Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity) and VCEAC (Vitamin C Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity) values. The results indicated that the above fruits, such as murici and mangaba, were good sources of antioxidants. The phenolic contents showed positive correlations with total antioxidant by ABTS (R = 0.94, P ≤ 0.001) and DPPH (R = 0.88, P ≤ 0.001) assays. However, this correlation was not noticed when examining vitamin C and anthocyanins contents. The 11 fruits studied had comparable antioxidant activity in both, ABTS and DPPH assays. These methods are recommended as useful tools for the evaluation of the total activity antioxidant in fruits. Our results indicated promising perspectives for the development and usage of fruits species studied with considerable levels of antioxidant activity.

Compostos bioativos e atividade antioxidante de variedades melhoradas de mamão

“…(THAIPONG et al, 2006). Entretanto, alguns trabalhos relatam correlação negativa entre o teor de vitamina C e a atividade antioxidante (PANTELIDIS et al, 2007), ou não observam correlação significativa (GIL et al, 2002;ALMEIDA et al, 2011). Vale ressaltar que esses resultados são dependentes dos métodos de análise utilizados.…”

1-MCP em Mangabas armazenadas em temperatura ambiente e a 11ºC

“…O consumo de mangaba oferece benefícios à saúde através do fornecimento elevado de antioxidantes naturais (ALMEIDA et al, 2011). A mangabeira produz frutos aromáticos, delicados, saborosos e nutritivos, com teor de proteína de 1,3 a 3,0%, com teores de vitaminas e sais minerais superiores aos da maioria das espécies frutíferas, tendo excelente aceitação no mercado (FERREIRA, 2007).…”

Extensive profiling of three varieties of Opuntia spp. fruit for innovative food ingredients

“…Some researchers like Almeida et al (2011), directed their investigations towards the revalorization of exotic fruit juices and extracts. These substances contain biomolecules that could be applied as unpurified extracts or isolated molecules, or as a possible substitute for synthetic additives.…”