Phytochemical characterization and antioxidant properties of the wild edible acerolaMalpighia umbellataRose

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to determine the phenolic composition and carotenoid contents of leaves, bark, and fruits of Malpighia umbellata, assess the changes in the phenolic composition and contents of carotenoids and vitamin C of its fruits in different stages of maturity, and evaluate the antioxidant properties of its leaves, bark, and fruits. Leaves accumulated the highest levels of flavonoids (10.55 mg/g dry extract), tannins (21.16 mg/g dry extract), and carotenoids (424 63 µg/g dry tissue); whereas, the highest level of total phenolics was found in bark (47.12 mg/g dry extract). The vitamin C content decreased with the maturity of fruits. Twenty-two phenolics were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Apigenin-7-O-glycosides, phenolic acids, and flavonols were predominant in leaves, bark, and fruits, respectively. Important chemical variations were found during fruit ripening. The 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH •) scavenging activity and 2,2ʹ-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) inhibition assays revealed important antioxidant properties for this acerola. Caracterización fitoquímica y propiedades antioxidantes de la acerola silvestre Malpighia umbellata Rose RESUMEN El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la composición fenólica y contenidos de carotenoides de las hojas, corteza, y frutos de Malpighia umbellata; los cambios en la composición fenólica y contenidos de carotenoides y vitamina C de sus frutos durante la maduración; y las propiedades antioxidantes de sus hojas, corteza, y frutos. Las hojas acumularon los niveles más altos de flavonoides, taninos (10.55 y 21.16 mg/g extracto seco, respectivamente), y carotenoides (424 63 µg/g tejido seco); el nivel más alto de fenoles totales se encontró en corteza (47.12 mg/g extracto seco). El contenido de vitamina C disminuyó con la madurez de los frutos. Veintidós compuestos fenólicos se caracterizaron por HPLC-DAD. Apigenina-3-O-glicósidos fueron predominantes en hojas, ácidos fenólicos en corteza, y flavonoles en frutos. Se encontraron importantes variaciones químicas durante la madurez de los frutos. Los ensayos de 2,2-difenil-1-picrilhidracilo (DPPH) y 2,2ʹ-azino-bis-(3-etilbenzotiazolin-6-ácido sulfónico) (ABTS) revelaron importantes propiedades antioxidantes para esta acerola.

Phytochemical variation among populations of Fouquieria splendens Engelm. (Fouquieriaceae)

“…The above suggests that in the quantitative expression of foliar flavonoids and tannins, the environmental context has a less important participation than the genetic context. The TFLL and TFLF contents estimated in the current study were higher than those of Agave durangensis flowers (1,210.48 µg QE/g DE), which are edible and consumed in some semi-arid areas of Mexico (Barriada-Bernal et al 2014), and also higher than those of Malpighia umbellata leaves (10.55 mg/g DE), a tropical species whose fruits are also edible (Vasavilbazo-Saucedo et al 2018). Flavonoids are the best-known group of phenolic compounds, are found in practically all plant parts, and their human intake is related to health benefits (Seleem et al 2017).…”

Analysis of Certain Nutritional Parameters of Some Edible Lesser Known Legumes of Nagaland, India

“…Besides protein and carbohydrate, most of the studied samples were found to be rich in phenols and flavonoids. As reported in the bark of Malpighia umbellata Rose [23], high phenolic content was reported by Zhao et al [24] in lentils. Xu and Chang [25] reported high total phenolic acid in light colored beans while Laparra et al [26] reported black beans with higher phenolic contents, whereas in this study, high phenolic content was seen in white beans of Mucuna pruriens as compared to the other colored beans.…”

Brazilian varieties of acerola (Malpighia emarginataDC.) produced under tropical semi‐arid conditions: Bioactive phenolic compounds, sugars, organic acids, and antioxidant capacity

“…Considering that positive values of a * correspond to red, and positive values of b * correspond to yellow, the red color on the fruit predominated in all genotypes. In acerola, the red color is usually associated with the presence of pigments such as anthocyanins and carotenoids in ripe fruit (Delva & Schneider, 2013; Vasavilbazo‐Saucedo et al., 2018).…”

“…However, in this study only cyanidin was quantified and the values for each variety were 52.52 mg 100 g −1 DW for “BRS 235,” 148 mg 100 g −1 DW for “BRS 236,” 241.1 mg 100 g −1 DW for “BRS 237,” and 104.87 mg 100 g −1 DW for “BRS 238.” In addition, according to this study, the total content of anthocyanins in fresh fruit were 64.9 mg/kg for “BRS 235,” 91.2 mg/kg for “BRS 236,” 173.0 mg/kg for “BRS 237,” and 74.2 mg/kg for “BRS 238.” Anthocyanins are known to be a class of important flavonoids responsible for the development of the red color in ripe acerola. Indeed, studies have shown that ripening is associated with increasing anthocyanin synthesis and concentration in acerola fruit (Oliveira et al., 2012; Vasavilbazo‐Saucedo et al., 2018; Xu et al., 2020).…”

“…is a tropical fruit originated from Central America, which has high economic importance mainly due to its high contents of ascorbic acid, carotenoids and phenolic compounds that have nutraceutical properties and make acerola a super fruit (Chang et al., 2019; Delva & Schneider, 2013; Prakash & Baskaran, 2018; Xu et al., 2020). Indeed, studies have shown that ascorbic acid and several phenolics belonging to the groups of flavanols, flavonols and anthocyanins are the main compounds responsible for the bioactive properties in acerola (Mezadri et al., 2008; Nascimento et al., 2018; Oliveira et al., 2012; Prakash & Baskaran, 2018; Vasavilbazo‐Saucedo et al., 2018). These bioactive properties have stimulated acerola consumption either as fresh fruit or processed products such as pulp, juice, and ice cream (Belwal et al., 2018; Chang et al., 2019; Mariano‐Nasser et al., 2017).…”