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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178870
Title: TOTAL PHENOLIC, CAROTENOIDS, AND ANTHOCYANIN CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF PEACH AND PLUM GENOTYPES

Author
item VIZZOTTO, M - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item CISNEROS-ZEVALLOS, L - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item BYRNE, D - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item Okie, William
item Ramming, David

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2005
Publication Date: 7/30/2006
Citation: Vizzotto, M., Cisneros-Zevallos, L., Byrne, D., Okie, W.R., Ramming, D.W. 2006. Total phenolic, carotenoids, and anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity of peach and plum genotypes. Acta Horticulturae. 713:453-455.

Interpretive Summary: Health benefits of the food in every day diets are of great concern to people today. Phenolics and carotenoids have been implicated in improving human health and they are known to occur in fruits. Twenty-two peach and 53 plum varieties were analyzed for phytochemicals and antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was the highest in red flesh peaches and correlated with their phenolic content. Antioxidant activity also tended to be higher in red flesh plums and they generally also had higher phenolic content. This information will allow breeders to select for varieties with higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity, resulting in the development of healthier food.

Technical Abstract: Fruits contain a range of phenolics and carotenoids which have been implicated in improving human health. The objective of this study was to characterize the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity (AOA) exhibited in peaches and plums and to determine if any associations existed between these phytochemicals and AOA. Twenty-two peach varieties and fifty-three plum varieties with different flesh and skin color were analyzed for their antioxidant content and AOA. Total phenolics, anthocyanins, and carotenoids were analyzed spectrophotometrically. AOA was evaluated by (DPPH). Carotenoid content was higher in yellow-flesh (2-3 mg beta-carotene/100g fw-fresh weight) than in white or red-flesh peaches (0.01-1.8 mg beta-carotene/100g fw). AOA was about 2-fold higher in red-flesh varieties than in white/yellow-flesh peach varieties. Among the peaches, the AOA was best correlated with phenolic content. Among the plums, the anthocyanin content increased with the red color intensity. Although the plums varied widely in phenolic content, the red/purple-flesh plums generally had higher phenolic content (400-500 mg chlorogenic acid/100g fw) than the other plums. Carotenoid content in plums was similar for all varieties. AOA tended to be higher in red/purple-flesh varieties as compared to light colored flesh plums. As with the peaches, the best correlations were between the AOA and the total phenolics content of the fruit.