Cultivar differences in phenolic contents/biological activities of color-fleshed potatoes and their relationships

The current study was performed to evaluate colored potatoes (Solamum tuberosum L.) as a potential source of functional food material. We compared the total phenolic content (TPC) in potato tubers of a white-fleshed potato variety with six color-fleshed potato cultivars. We also examined their antioxidant and antiproliferative activities. The TPC of the analyzed cultivars varied between 113.3 mg center dot 100 g(-1) powder ('Superior') and 153.3 mg center dot 100 g(-1) powder ('Blue'). The colored potato extracts showed higher radical scavenging activities than the white fleshed potato extract ('Superior'), and all colored potato extracts, except for 'Rose' and 'Haryoung', induced significant antiproliferative activities against THP-1 cells at the tested concentrations. In particular, 'Jaseo' and 'Jasim' showed 35% and 31% cell viability, respectively, at the concentration of 10 mu g center dot mL(-1). The greatest positive correlation was found between TPC and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (r = 0.912, p < 0.01), and TPC also showed a strong positive correlation with nitrite scavenging ability (r = 0.808, p < 0.01). Our results indicate that color-fleshed potatoes have higher antioxidant and stronger antiproliferative activities than white-fleshed potatoes.