Determination of Carotenoids, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Arazá (Eugenia stipitata McVaugh), an Amazonian Fruit

Abstract

The fruit of Arazá (Eugenia stipitata McVaugh) native to the Colombian Amazon is considered a potentially economically valuable fruit for the Andean economy due to its novel and unique taste. The fruit has an intense yellow color, but its chemical composition and properties have not been well studied. Here we report the identification and quantitation of carotenoids in the ripe fruit using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array detector (PDA) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APcI) mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The qualitative carotenoid profile of the fruit according to maturity stage was also observed. Furthermore, antioxidant activity of the peel and pulp were assessed using the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods, in addition to chemical indexes and total phenolic content. Multiple carotenoids were identified in the peel and pulp including four xanthophylls (free and esterified as their mono and diesters) and two carotenes. One of the xanthophylls was tentatively identified as zeinoxanthin, while the others were identified as lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin. Carotenes included α-carotene and β-carotene. The total carotenoid content was significantly higher in the peel (2484 ± 421 μg/100 g FW) than in the pulp (806 ± 348 μg/100 g FW) with lutein, β-cryptoxanthin, and zeinoxanthin as the major carotenoid components. The unique carotenoid composition of this fruit can differentiate it from other carotenoid-rich fruits and perhaps be useful in authentication procedures. Overall, results from this study suggest that Colombian Arazá may be a good edible source of carotenoids important in retinal health as well as carotenoids with provitamin A activity. Therefore, Arazá fruit can be used as a nutraceutical ingredient and in production of functional foods in the Colombian diet.

Elaboration and Characterization of Apple Nectars Supplemented with Araçá-boi (Eugenia stipitata Mac Vaugh—Myrtaceae)

“…The araçá-boi used in the present paper presented a centesimal composition and physicochemical parameters generally similar to those found in former studies [17,19,34,35]. In terms of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of FD, some differences were observed between this and other studies.…”

“…In terms of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of FD, some differences were observed between this and other studies. The total phenolic compounds found here, 82.32 mg GAE/100 g of fruit dw (Table 5), equivalent to 9.94 mg GAE/100 g fw, was lower than the values reported by Garzón et al (2012) [19] (34.1 mg GAE/100 g fw), Lizcano, Bakkali, Begoña Ruiz-Larrea, & Ignacio Ruiz-Sanz (2010) [36] (157.00 mg GAE/100 g fw) and Neri-Numa et al (2013) [9] (184.08 mg GAE/100 g dw), while the level of flavonoids found here (90.78 mg CE/100 g of fruit dw, equivalent to 10.96 mg CE/100 g fw), was higher than that determined by Lizcano et al (2010) [36] (5 mg CE/100 g fw). The antioxidant capacity found in the present study was also higher than those found in previous results.…”

“…The antioxidant capacity by DPPH method was 30.60 µmol (7.66 mg) TE/g of fruit dw (Table 5), equivalent to 3.69 µmol (0.92 mg) TE/g fw, while Garzón et al (2012) [19] found 0.5 mg TE/g fw. As for TEAC method, the antioxidant capacity obtained here (48.73 µmol (12.19 mg) TE/g of fruit dw (Table 5), equivalent to 5.88 µmol (1.47 mg) TE/g fw) was also higher than the values reported by Garzón et al (2012) [9] (0.65 mg TE/g fw), Canuto et al (2010) [34] (0.75 mg TE/g fw) and Lizcano et al (2010) [36] (1.4 mg TE/g fw). As for the ORAC method, we obtained an antioxidant capacity of 135.3 µmol TE/g of fruit dw (Table 5), equivalent to 16.33 µmol TE/g fw, while Lizcano et al (2010) [36] and Neri-Numa et al…”

“…Araçá-boi also has a considerable antioxidant capacity [16][17][18][19]. In addition, Gonçalves, Lajolo and Genovese (2010) [20] also reported high contents of glycosylated quercetin derivatives in araçá-boi, which resulted in an antidiabetic potential by inhibiting both α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes.…”

Chemical characterization and antioxidant capacity of the araçá-pera ( Psidium acutangulum ): An exotic Amazon fruit

“…This vitamin has a high redox potential that acts as a natural antioxidant (Phillips et al, 2010). Besides vitamin C, exotic tropical fruits have been shown to be rich matrices in other antioxidant compounds, such as the carotenoids found in the "araçá-boi" (Eugenia stipitata McVaugh) (Astrid Garzon et al, 2012), phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in "bacaba" (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) (Abadio-Finco et al, 2012) and "camu-camu" (Zanatta, Cuevas, Bobbio, Winterhalter, & Mercadante, 2005).…”