Browsing by Author "Venter, Alet"

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    Nutraceutical value of yellow- and red-fleshed South African plums (prunus salicina lindl.) : evaluation of total antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition
    (MDPI, 2014) Venter, Alet; Joubert, Elizabeth; De Beer, Dalene
    Ten South African plum cultivars and selections, including yellow- and redfleshed plums from two harvest seasons were evaluated in terms of nutraceutical value (phenolic composition, total polyphenol content (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)) and fruit attributes (colour, fruit mass, etc.). Plums were evaluated at two maturity stages, i.e., directly after harvest (unripe) and after a commercial cold storage and ripening regime (ripe). The phenolic composition of South African plums varied greatly, both qualitatively and quantitatively, between cultivars and selections. Neochlorogenic acid, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-glucoside were the predominant hydroxycinnamic acid, anthocyanin and flavonol, respectively, although not present in all plums. The flavan-3-ols, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin and procyanidins B1 and B2, were present in all plums. Red-fleshed plums tended to display higher TAC and TPC than yellow-fleshed plums. The flavan-3-ol content was highly correlated with TAC. The effect of harvest season was cultivar-dependent, but cultivar differences were not obscured. In terms of maturity stage, the ripe fruits tended to contain higher levels of anthocyanins and some flavonol compounds, although the TPC and TAC were not affected in most cases. South African plums, especially the red-fleshed selections PR04-32 and PR04-35, were shown to provide generally high TAC and TPC compared to literature values.
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    Phenolic composition and in vitro antioxidant capacity of South African plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Venter, Alet; De Beer, D.; Joubert, E.; Muller, M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Food Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Phenolic compounds of the types present in plums have been found to exhibit health-promoting properties associated with their antioxidant capacity. Fruits with red peel and/or flesh are thus sought-after for their high antioxidant levels. In the current study South African plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cultivars and selections, harvested during two consecutive fruit seasons, were compared in terms of general fruit attributes (colour, firmness, °Brix, pH, titratable acidity), phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity. The effect of season and a commercial cold storage and ripening regime was also investigated. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array-fluorescence detection (HPLC-DAD-FLD) method suitable for use with mass spectrometry (MS) detection, was optimised for separation and identification of phenolic compounds from four phenolic groups (phenolic acids, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols and flavonols) in six South African plum cultivars and five selections. Parameters that were optimised include the mobile phases, analysis temperature and gradient program. Good stability, linearity and inter- and intra-day precision were obtained. Identification of compounds was based on comparison of retention times, UV-Vis spectra and mass fragments with available authentic phenolic standards and/or literature data. The optimised method allowed identification or tentative identification of twenty-four phenolic compounds, including cyanidin-3-O-glycosides, quercetin glycosides, monomeric, dimeric and trimeric flavan-3-ols, and hydroxycinnamic acids. An on-line ABTS•+ (2,2ʹ-azinobis-(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) antioxidant assay, performed for qualitative evaluation of the antioxidant response of individual phenolic compounds, indicated the flavan-3-ols as major antioxidants in plums. Eighteen phenolic compounds were quantified, including anthocyanins and flavonol glycosides, flavan-3-ols (monomers and dimers) and hydroxycinnamic acids. Phenolic composition differed greatly between cultivars and selections. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was the predominant anthocyanin in plums with red peel and/or flesh, followed by cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside. Cyanidin-3-O-galactoside was present only in the cultivar Laetitia (red peel, yellow flesh). The ripe fruit of Ruby Red and PR04-19, both with red peel and flesh, had the highest anthocyanin content for the first and second harvest season, respectively. Neochlorogenic acid and quercetin-3-O-glucoside were the major phenolic acid and flavonol, respectively. Chlorogenic acid, 3-O-p-coumaroylquinic acid and several quercetin-glycosides and -diglycosides were also present in some cultivars and selections. Procyanidin B1 was the flavan-3-ol present in the highest concentration in the majority of cultivars and selections and its content correlated with the (+)-catechin content, while the same was observed for procyanidin B2 and (-)-epicatechin. The effect of cold storage and ripening on fruit attributes differed greatly between cultivars and selections. The increase and decrease in pH and titratable acidity, respectively, were as expected for ripe fruit as opposed to unripe fruit. Ripe fruit had higher a*-values and lower L*-values. The cold storage and ripening regime had no significant effect on total polyphenol and total flavan-3-ol content of the cultivars and selections, but the anthocyanin content increased in some cases. In terms of in vitro antioxidant capacity, the selections PR04-32 and PR04-35, both with red peel and flesh, had the highest antioxidant capacity, irrespective of assay. Sapphire (red peel, yellow flesh), with the lowest total polyphenol content, also had the lowest antioxidant capacity in the ORAC and FRAP assays. Both the total polyphenol and flavan-3-ol contents correlated significantly to antioxidant capacity, irrespective of assay.