Comparative Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Red and White Pitayas and Their Correlation with Flavonoid and Polyphenol Content

Abstract

Pitaya, commonly known as dragon fruit, has generated considerable consumer interest because of its attractive color and micronutrient content. The present study investigated the total polyphenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity against various free radicals, and antiproliferative effect on several cancer cell lines of extracts of flesh and peel of white and red pitayas, collected from Jeju Island, Korea. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of 80% methanol extracts of red pitaya peel (RPP) and white pitaya peel (WPP) were approximately 3- and 5-fold higher than those of red pitaya flesh (RPF) and white pitaya flesh (WPF), respectively. Overall, the total flavonoid and polyphenol contents of these extracts were RPP>WPP>RPF>WPF and WPP>RPP>RPF>WPF, respectively. In addition, a study involving nontargeted high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS) of different pitaya extracts indicated the presence of phenolic, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonol glycosides, betacyanin, and its derivatives with a few unknown compounds. Separately, peel extracts of both red and white pitayas showed higher 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl, and alkyl radical-scavenging activity than did the corresponding flesh extracts. Both peel extracts also showed stronger antiproliferative activity against AGS and MCF-7 cancer cells than either flesh extract. There was a direct correlation between the phenolic content and antioxidant effect, but no correlation observed between antioxidant activity and antiproliferative activity. These results suggest that the peel of white and red pitaya may be a valuable ingredient in foods and may also be useful in cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.

Chemical and Physical-Chemical Properties, Antioxidant Activity and Fatty Acids Profile of Red Pitaya [Hylocereus Undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose] Grown In Brazil

“…In some regions of South America, the pulp is used in beverages, as successfully occurs in Brazilian restaurants where it is served in chunks, together with champagne [7]. The red pitaya shell has great potential to be used as natural pigment due to the presence of betacyanin [8], and presents possible antioxidant activity [9]. In Brazil, there are a few farming areas dedicated to the pitaya cultivation, in the state of São Paulo, mainly in Catanduva County where production occurs from December to May, with an average annual yield of 14 tons of fruit per hectare [1].…”

Cultivo de Hylocereus sp. com enfoque na propagação vegetativa, sombreamento e adubação mineral

“…Alguns componentes obtidos da casca de pitaia vermelha e branca também demonstraram capacidade de inibir o crescimento de células cancerígenas (WU et al, 2006;KIM et al, 2011).…”

EFFECTS OF RED DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus polyrhizus) SKIN EXTRACT ON LEAD ACETATE TOXICITY IN THE MORPHOLOGY OF Balb/c MICE (Mus musculus) SPERMATOZOA

“…Red dragon fruit skin has high antioxidant content when compared with its fruit flesh, such as phenolic, flavonoids, and polyphenols (Wu et al 2006). The polyphenols and flavonoids contained in red dragon fruit's methanol extract are five times higher than those in its fruit flesh (Kim et al 2011). Nurliyana et al (2010) proved that the content of phenolic compound on red dragon fruit skin was 28.16 mg/100 g while for the flesh was only 3.75 mg/100 g. Free radical binding activities conducted with IC50 technique also showed that red dragon fruit skin had the highest free radical binding activity.…”