Comparison of Antioxidant Capacity of Mango (Mangifera indica), Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and Guava (Psidium guajava) Pulp Extracts at Different Maturation Stages

Abstract

The total polyphenols, flavonoids, lipid-soluble antioxidants (CALT) and radical scavenging ability of the pulp extracts of mango (Mangifera indica), pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and guava (Psidium guajava) were investigated at different maturation stages for the purpose of determining the antioxidant capacity and the possibility of using these fruits at every maturation stage for the prevention of lipid oxidation. The pulps of these fruits were extracted at different maturation stages; unripe (UR), about to ripe (AR) and ripe (RP). The extracted pulps were freeze-dried and used for the analyses. The total phenolic content was determined by spectrophotometry (Folic Ciocalteu’s method) while 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used for the radical scavenging ability. The various antioxidant activities were compared with standard antioxidants such as gallic acid, rutin, α-tocophenol and ascorbic acid. The results showed that all the fruits investigated at different maturation stages possessed high quality antioxidants (those that can scavenge free radicals, function as metal chelators or donate hydrogen atoms). Radical scavenging ability of the fruit pulps was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by the different maturation stages. The unripe fruits (mango, pawpaw and guava) have the highest antioxidant properties suggesting that the antioxidant capacity of the fruits decreased as the fruits ripened.

Keywords: Fruits, antioxidant capacity, maturation stage.