Physicochemical Parameters, Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of the Algarvian Avocado (Persea americana Mill.)

Abstract

The physical, chemical and nutritional properties of Persea americana fruits variety 'Hass' produced in the Algarve region were studied. Edible and non-edible parts of the fruits (pulp, seeds and peel) were compared considering their possible contribution to improve the sustainability of the food and pharmaceutical industries. The nutritional contents evaluated were moisture, ash, proteins, fat, total soluble solids and acidity. It were also evaluated the contents of bioactive compounds (phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and vitamin E) and their influence in the antioxidant activity exhibited by the fruit material. The results of the analysis demonstrated that the Algarvian avocado has physical and chemical characteristics comparable or superior to avocados from other growing regions around the world namely, Mexico and California. With regard to the contents of bioactive compounds, the pulp of the Algarvian avocado proved to be rich in carotenoids (0.815±0.201 mg/100g), phenolic compounds (410.2±69.0 mg/100g) and flavonoids (21.9±1.0 mg/100g). The skin was superior to the pulp in the contents of all these compounds with 2.585±0.117 mg/100g of carotenoids, 679.0±117.0 mg/100g of total phenolics and 44.3±3.1 mg/100g of flavonoids. The seed, in turn, was the part of the fruit with the highest total phenolic content (704.0±130.0 mg/100g) and flavonoids (47.97±2.69 mg/100g). Regarding the concentration of vitamins C and E, the highest values were found in the pulp (5.36±1.77 mg/100g of vitamin E) and skin (4.1±2.7 mg/100g of vitamin C). The extracts obtained from the seeds demonstrated higher in vitro DPPH• assay antioxidant activity (43%) than those obtained from the skin (35%) and the fruit pulp (23%). The contents of carotenoids, phenolic compounds and flavonoids found in the non-edible parts of the Algarvian avocado demonstrated that these byproducts could be an interesting inexpensive raw material for the food and cosmetic industries.

Morphological and Chemical Analysis of 16 Avocado Accessions (Persea americana) From China by Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis

“…10, No. 8;20181999, 2002Villa-Rodríguez et al, 2011;Vinha et al, 2013); these previously reported values were mostly higher than those found in the present study. We inferred that the different cultivation conditions of the avocado accessions could have the main effect on the variation of the total lipid levels of the pulps.…”

Morphological Characteristics, Nutritional Quality, and Bioactive Constituents in Fruits of Two Avocado (Persea americana) Varieties from Hainan Province, China

“…Distilled water was the blank control. Results were expressed as grams of tartaric acid per 100 g of sample, according to the methodology described by Vinha et al (2013). The experiments were carried out in triplicate for each accession.…”

“…Natural antioxidants, in particular flavonoids and other groups of polyphenols, have potential uses in the pharmaceutical and food industries because of their many benefits such as reducing the risk of inflammatory diseases and preventing lipid oxidation (Chen et al, 2014). Avocado fruit contains more phenolic compounds than other kinds of tropical and subtropical fruits (Kosinska et al, 2012;Vinha et al, 2013;Chen et al, 2014). Recent studies have also demonstrated that avocado contains other bioactive compounds that are equally beneficial to human heath, such as vitamins and phytochemicals (vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, etc.…”

“…Recent studies have also demonstrated that avocado contains other bioactive compounds that are equally beneficial to human heath, such as vitamins and phytochemicals (vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, etc. ) and minerals (phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium) (Dreher & Davenport, 2013;Vinha et al, 2013).…”

Storage, size and vigor of ‘Esther’ avocado seeds (Persea americana Mill.)

“…that were at least 2 mm larger than those of the seedlings stored for 10 d. In regard to stem length, it was observed that plants grew up to three times longer by increasing the storage time (between 10 and 100 d). Although avocado seeds are recalcitrant and storage conditions affect seedling emergence (Hartmann et al, 2002), storage under high relative humidity and low temperatures allowed the growth and development of seedlings, which was favored by the characteristic active metabolism and high moisture content of this species (Vinha et al, 2013).…”