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

Abstract

In this study, five different extractive solutions were used to evaluate the ascorbic acid content of the in natura and lyophilized pulps of the Buchenavia tomentosa Eichler fruits. In addition, the lyophilized extract was submitted to different tests to determine the antioxidant activities. The fruit pulps presented ascorbic acid contents between 7315.70 and 13272.63 in fresh pulp and between 1337.67 to 1503.33 mg 100 g-1 in the lyophilized pulp. The content of total phenolic compounds was 161.58 ± 24.69 mg of gallic acid g-1 and of flavonoids equal to 5.93 ± 0.40 mg quercetin 100 g-1 of pulp. The obtained antioxidant activities in the DPPH and FRAP assays were 50.29 ± 0.61 g of dehydrated pulp g-1 DPPH and 3303.81 ± 50.47 mM ferrous sulfate g-1, respectively. In contrast, for the β-carotene/linoleic acid system the sample behaved as a pro-oxidant because of the high content of ascorbic acid.