Phytochemical and antioxidant characterization of mamey (Pouteria sapota Jacq. HE Moore & Stearn) fruit

Phytochemical compounds in fruits and vegetables have gained great importance in the last few years because of the increasing evidence suggesting their antioxidant and prevention of chronic diseases. Carotenoids, phenolics, flavonoids, and vitamins E and C, are among these phytochemicals. Several fruits have been characterized so far for their antioxidant and health properties but there is still limited information on fruits from the tropic. Therefore, the objective of this study was the characterization of mamey fruit (Pouteria sapota Jacq. H. E. Moore & Stearn) with regard to their antioxidant capacity and phytochemical profile. Phenolics, carotenoids and delta-tocopherol were quantified and identified by HPLC-DAD-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), and DPPH and FRAP assays were used to evaluate antioxidant capacity. Hydrophilic extracts of mamey fruit showed higher antioxidant capacity than the lipophilic portion. Total soluble phenols content was 28.5 mg GAE/100 g fw, being p-hydroxybenzoic acid as the main phenolic that was identified. Total carotenoid content was 1127.9 mu g beta-carotene/100 g fw with beta-carotene being the main contributor, in addition to lutein, and violoxanthin. Concentration of delta-tocopherol was 360.0 mu g/100 g fw. Results of this study suggest that mamey fruit is a good source of carotenoids and its inclusion in the diet is recommended. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.