Ascorbic acid and phenolic contents, antioxidant capacity and flavonoids composition of Brazilian Savannah native fruits

Abstract

The Brazilian Savannah, known as Cerrado, produces several native fruits, which have been investigated as potential sources of antioxidant substances (Souza et al., 2012). Cagaita (Eugenia dysenterica DC), cerrado cashew (Anacardium othonianum Rizz.) and gabiroba (Campomanesia adamantium (Cambess.) O. Berg) are used as food, as well as nutraceuticals in folk medicine, with the potential of contributing to the economy of the Cerrado. These fruits exhibit high moisture contents (Cardoso et al., 2011; Pereira et al., 2012) and substantial amounts of total phenolic compounds (Rocha et al., 2011). The literature has reported the effect of cagaita pulp on the prevention of diet-induced obese mice (Donado-Pestana et al., 2015), of cerrado cashew's leaves against ulcers and gastritis (Luiz-Ferreira et al., 2010), and of gabiroba against liver toxicity (Fernandes et al., 2015). However, the factors and mechanisms related to these effects remain unknown, as well as the phenolic composition and antioxidant potential of these native fruits. Considering the diversity of antioxidant substances present in foods, several methods have been developed to assess the antioxidant capacity of foods. Thereby, the combination of at least two methods is recommended to provide more comprehensive results of the antioxidant capacity of fruits (López-Alarcón & Denicola, 2013). Reliable data regarding the content of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant capacity of fruits are important tools for public health, as the regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases (Cavallo et al., 2016). In addition, the information about the phytochemical contents helps to add commercial and industrial value to the fruits. Given the importance of research on natural antioxidants and the scarcity of data related to the bioactive potential of Brazilian native fruits, the objectives of the present study were to assess the content of total ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds, to estimate and correlate the antioxidant capacity measured by different methods, and to identify and quantify the flavonoid content of the edible portions of cagaita, cerrado cashew and gabiroba. 2 Material and methods 2.1 Samples Cagaita, cerrado cashew and gabiroba were collected in areas representing the Cerrado biome, in the central region of Goiás State, Brazil. The specimens were confirmed by the herbarium of the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). The edible parts of cagaita (peel and pulp) and cerrado cashew (pseudofruit) were extracted manually, and the edible part of gabiroba (pulp) was extracted using an industrial depulper. Thereafter, the samples were freeze dried, vacuum-sealed and stored under refrigeration and

Physicochemical characterization of ‘Cerrado’ cashew (Anacardium othonianum Rizzini) fruits and pseudofruits

“…Seven compounds identified in this work were also previously observed by de Brito et al 18 Moreover, Gordon et al 36 detected four compounds in A. occidentale pseudofruits that were also identified in this work: myrecetin-3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside and kaempferol 3-O-glucoside. Two compounds detected in this work were previously observed by Alves et al 37 in A. othonianum, who used liquid chromatography with an automatic display, quaternary pump, and diode array detector (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) and detected two flavonoids (myricetin rutinoside and myricetin derivative) and five anthocyanins (cyanidin hexoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside, delphinidin rutinoside, pelargonidin hexoside and peonidin 3-glucoside). Chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid), a phenolic compound, was the only compound from the hydroxycinnamic acid family found in the A. othonianum accessions.…”

“…detected four compounds in A. occidentale pseudofruits that were also identified in this work: myrecetin‐3‐ O ‐rhamnoside, quercetin 3‐ O ‐galactoside, quercetin 3‐ O ‐glucoside and kaempferol 3‐ O ‐glucoside. Two compounds detected in this work were previously observed by Alves et al . in A. othonianum , who used liquid chromatography with an automatic display, quaternary pump, and diode array detector (HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS) and detected two flavonoids (myricetin rutinoside and myricetin derivative) and five anthocyanins (cyanidin hexoside, cyanidin 3‐glucoside, delphinidin rutinoside, pelargonidin hexoside and peonidin 3‐glucoside).…”

Determination of the Content of Ascorbic Acid and Antioxidant Capacity of Fruit Buchenavia tomentosa Eichler

“…31 A strong correlation between the content of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity, through the DPPH and FRAP assays, has also been reported in studies with Brazilian fruits, including caju-do-cerrado, gabiroba, cagaita and camu-camu fruits. 31,50 The results obtained by these authors suggest that ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds may be the most important contributors to the antioxidant capacity presented by the B. tomentosa fruit extract studied in this study.…”

“…Alves et al evaluated the antioxidant capacity of the cashew, gabiroba, and cagaita fruits, by different methods, including the DPPH and FRAP assays, and found a significant correlation between the antioxidant capacity and the ascorbic acid content. 50 In another study, using the FRAP method to evaluated the antioxidant capacity of Brazilian tropical fruits, the authors reported a positive correlation between ascorbic acid content and antioxidant capacity. 31 A strong correlation between the content of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity, through the DPPH and FRAP assays, has also been reported in studies with Brazilian fruits, including caju-do-cerrado, gabiroba, cagaita and camu-camu fruits.…”

Grumixama (Eugenia brasiliensis Lam.) cultivated in the Cerrado has high content of bioactive compounds and great antioxidant potential

“…Concerning the result of the antioxidant capacity by DPPH (Table 2), the grumixama cultivated in Goiás has the highest radical scavenging capacity among the grumixama cultivated in São Paulo (MACHADO et al, 2017), the fruits native to the Cerrado (ALVES et al, 2017) and Alaskan wild blueberry (GRACE et al, 2014). The grumixama seed has high antioxidant capacity (TEIXEIRA et al, 2015), which could partially explain the significant difference between data of the fruit from São Paulo (pulp) (MACHADO et al, 2017) and Goiás (whole fruit).…”