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Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 22 (2009) 388–393

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Journal of Food Composition and Analysis


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jfca

Original Article

Antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of Malaysian


underutilized fruits
Emmy Hainida Khairul Ikram a, Khoo Hock Eng a, Abbe Maleyki Mhd Jalil a,
Amin Ismail a,*, Salma Idris b, Azrina Azlan a, Halimatul Saadiah Mohd Nazri a,
Norzatol Akmar Mat Diton a, Ruzaidi Azli Mohd Mokhtar a
a
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Botany Division, Strategic Resource Research Center, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity (AC) and total phenolic content (TPC)
Received 1 November 2007 of selected Malaysian underutilized fruits. The 58 underutilized fruits of 32 different species from 21
Received in revised form 16 February 2009 genera were analyzed for AC and TPC. AC was measured using b-carotene bleaching, ferric reducing
Accepted 2 April 2009
antioxidant potential (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assays, and TPC was
determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent assay. Our findings showed that the fruits from genera
Keywords: of Pometia, Averrhoa, Syzygium, Sallacca, Phyllanthus, Garcinia, Sandoricum and Maipighia had higher AC
Underutilized fruit
compared to other studied genera. Among the underutilized fruits, Sandoricum and Phyllanthus fruits
Inhibition of oxidation activity
Antioxidant activity
contained the highest TPC (>2000 mg/100 g edible portion). The correlation between AC and TPC varied.
Scavenging activity The study indicated that some of these underutilized fruits have the potential to be sources of
Total phenolic content antioxidant components.
Food analysis ß 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Food composition

1. Introduction utilized fruits are important in the Malaysian diet, especially in


rural communities. Malaysia is one of the countries that has a
Epidemiological studies have shown that there is a positive rich diversity of underutilized fruits that grow wild in the region
association between intake of vegetables and fruits and reduced of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Some of the
cardiovascular diseases (Hu, 2003) and certain cancers (Riboli and underutilized fruits are rarely eaten, unknown and unfamiliar.
Norat, 2003). It is generally assumed that the main dietary Due to the broad spectrum of their flesh and skin color, these
constituents contributing to these protective effects are the underutilized fruits may have potential benefits to human
antioxidant components (Agudo et al., 2007). Along with other health. It is important to include these fruits in health
antioxidant components, polyphenols (e.g. flavonoids) present in promotion campaigns. In addition, some of these fruits have
fruits and vegetables have been reported to be potential candidates the potential to be used and processed as food products for local
in lowering cardiovascular diseases (Huxley and Neil, 2003; consumption. However, underutilized fruits have not received
Joshipura et al., 2001). The protective effects could be due to much attention as antioxidant sources compared to commercial
their properties as free radical scavengers, hydrogen-donating fruits like guava, papaya and pineapple. This could be due to
compounds, singlet oxygen quenchers and/or metal ion chelators. their lack of popularity among local communities, lack of
Generally, Malaysians consume vegetables that are relatively information on nutritional compositions and physical qualities
abundant sources of antioxidant components with strong and the lack of promotional campaigns for these fruits.
potential antioxidant activities (Amin and Lee, 2005; Amin In Malaysia, many kinds of underutilized fruits are available,
et al., 2004, 2006). Similar to vegetables, tropical and sub- such as nam-nam (Cynometra sp.), bacang (Mangifera sp.), jambu
tropical fruits such as ciku, star fruits and guava have been bol (Psidium sp.), durian (Durio sp.), bidara (Ziziphus sp.), mertajam
reported to be rich in antioxidants (Leong and Shui, 2002). (Leppisanthes sp.), longan (Dimorcarpus sp.), lenggeng serawak
Besides the commonly consumed local fruits, some under- (Pometia sp.), belimbing buloh (Averrhoa sp.), assam kelubi (Salacca
sp.), buah melaka (Phyllanthus sp.), assam gelugor (Garcinia sp.),
sentol (Sandoricum sp.), rambai Sarawak (Baccaurea sp.), remia
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 8947 2435; fax: +60 3 8942 6769. (Bouea sp.), pulasan (Nephelium sp.) and others. These fruits are
E-mail address: amin@medic.upm.edu.my (A. Ismail). usually grown in orchards or fruit gardens around houses, and

0889-1575/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2009.04.001
E.H.K. Ikram et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 22 (2009) 388–393 389

some grow wild in the rain-forest (Rukayah, 1992). These fruits are 2.3. Total phenolic content (TPC)
known by older folks to be associated with many nutritional and
medicinal properties. The content of reducing components (expressed as TPC) was
There is a dearth of information on the antioxidant capacity estimated using the Folin–Ciocalteu assay according to a method
(AC) and antioxidant components, including total phenolic content developed by Velioglu et al. (1998), with slight modification.
(TPC), of Malaysian underutilized fruits. Therefore, this work was Briefly, 0.75 mL of 10-fold diluted Folin–Ciocalteu reagent and
initiated to determine AC and TPC of selected Malaysian under- 100 mL of methanolic extract were placed in a test tube. The
utilized fruits. In addition, the relationship between AC and TPC mixture was mixed and allowed to stand at room temperature for
was determined. 5 min. Then, 0.75 mL of 6% (w/v) sodium carbonate solution was
added. The mixture was homogenized and allowed to stand at
2. Materials and methods room temperature for 90 min. TPC was determined using a
Spectronic GenesisTM spectrophotometer at 725 nm. The standard
2.1. Preparation of sample and extract calibration curve was plotted using gallic acid at the concentra-
tions of 0.02–0.1 mg/mL. The TPC was expressed as gallic acid
Two lines of research work consisting of 58 Malaysian equivalent (GAE) mg/100 g edible portion.
underutilized fruits of 32 different species from 21 genera were
conducted in this study. The first line of research work consisted 2.4. Determination of ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP)
of 51 underutilized fruits of 26 different species from 17 genera,
while the second line of work consisted of 9 underutilized fruits FRAP assay was performed according to the method of Benzie
of 9 different species from 8 genera. The fruits were sampled and Strain (1996). The FRAP reagent was prepared by mixing
from different locations by the Strategic Resource Research 16.7 mM FeCl36H2O and 8.3 mM 2,4,6-tripyridyl-s-triazine
Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development (TPTZ) with 250 mM acetate buffer, pH 3.6. A total of 75 mL fruit
Institute, Malaysia. The fruits were grown wild and harvested extract and 225 mL of distilled water was added to 2.25 mL of
at maturity at different time periods. Mature fruits for each freshly prepared FRAP reagent in a test tube. The mixture was
sample were transported from the Centre directly to the incubated at 37 8C throughout the reaction. The absorbance was
analytical laboratory. The whole fruit was washed under read at initial and after 4 min at 593 nm using a UV–vis
running tap water to remove dirt and other foreign materials spectrophotometer during the monitoring period. The antiox-
and wiped with tissue paper. The fruit was weighed for the idant potential of the fruit extract was determined based on a
whole and edible portions. The edible portion was then cut into calibration curve plotted using FeSO47H2O at a concentration
small pieces and stored at 80 8C before lyophilization using a ranging between 400 and 2000 mM.
bench-top freeze dryer (Virtis, Gardiner, New York). The
lyophilized fruits were ground into powder form, and kept at 2.5. Determination of free radical scavenging activity (DPPH)
20 8C prior to analysis.
Methanolic extract was prepared by mixing 1 g of the The scavenging activity of the extract was determined based on
lyophilized fruit powder with 80% methanol (v/v) at a ratio 1:4. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging assay
The mixture was placed in a conical flask (wrapped with an described by Lai et al. (2001). The fruit extract (200 mL) was mixed
aluminum foil) and agitated at 200 rpm, at 50 8C, with the aid of an with 800 mL of 100 mM Tris–HCl buffer, pH 7.4. The mixture was then
orbital shaker (Heidolph Unimax 1010, Schwabach, Germany) for added to 1.0 mL of 500 mM DPPH (previously prepared in methanol).
2 h. The mixture was then filtered through a filter paper (Whatman This was made up to the DPPH final concentration of 250 mM. The
No. 4) to obtain a clear solution. The extract was used for control was performed by mixing 200 mL of methanol with 1.0 mL
determination of AC and TPC. DPPH. The mixture was then shaken vigorously and left to stand for
20 min at room temperature in a dark room. The absorbance was read
2.2. b-Carotene bleaching method using a UV–vis spectrophotometer at 517 nm with methanol as the
blank. Triplicate measurements were carried out and their activity
The inhibition activity of b-carotene oxidation by peroxide was calculated based on the percentage of scavenged DPPH as
radicals of the fruit methanolic extract was determined according follows:
to a modified procedure, initially described by Velioglu et al.
(1998). Briefly, 1.0 mL of b-carotene solution (0.2 mg/mL chloro- Scavenging activity ð%Þ ¼ ½1  ðAbsorbance of
form) was pipetted into a round-bottom flask containing 20 mL sample at 517 nm=Absorbance of control at 517 nmÞ  100
linoleic acid, 200 mL Tween 20 and 200 mL fruit extract. The
mixture was then evaporated at 30 8C for 20 min using a rotary
2.6. Statistical analysis
evaporator (Buchi Rotavor R-200, Switzerland) to remove chloro-
form. After evaporation, 50 mL of distilled water was immediately
Data were expressed as mean  standard deviation of triplicate
added to the mixture. The mixture was vigorous agitated for 5 min
measurements. Data were statistically analyzed using statistical
using an orbital shaker to form an emulsion.
software, SPSS version 14.0 for windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA).
Aliquots (2.0 mL) of the emulsion were transferred into different
One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation
test tubes. The mixture was then gently mixed and placed in a water
coefficients, were determined and the significant difference was set at
bath at 50 8C for 2 h. Absorbance of the samples was recorded at 0
p < 0.05.
and 2 h at 470 nm using a Spectronic GenesysTM 5 spectro-
photometer (Milton Roy Company, New York). All determinations
were performed in triplicate. AC was calculated as percent 3. Results and discussion
of inhibition relative to control using the following equation
from Al-Saikhan et al. (1995): Antioxidant capacity (%) = In the first line of the study, a total of 51 samples in 17 genera
[(drcontrol–drsample)/drcontrol  100], where, drcontrol and drsample underutilized fruit were analyzed for their AA and TPC using b-
are the degradation bleaching rates of b-carotene in reactant mixed carotene bleaching and Folin–Ciocalteu reagent methods, respec-
with fruit extracts at 0 and 2 h, respectively. tively (Table 1). AC of the underutilized fruits ranged from 45% to
390 E.H.K. Ikram et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 22 (2009) 388–393

Table 1
Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity (based on b-carotene bleaching assay) of 52 underutilized fruits from 17 genera.

Scientific name Common name Total phenolic content Antioxidant


(mg GAE/100 g edible portion) capacity (%)

Averrhoa bilimbi L. Belimbing Buloh 1261.63  31.41 91.89  0.00


Baccaurea motteyana Rambai Sarawak 1160.14  20.56 71.17  5.63
Baccaurea polyneura Jentik-Jentik 546.25  15.70 81.98  3.12
Bouea microphylla Remia 1064.68  19.40 76.58  1.56
Cynometra cauliflora Nam-Nam 1868.94  11.68 45.95  2.70
Dimorcarpus longan Isau 203.92  14.35 52.25  3.12
Durio kutejensis Durian Isu Kuning 183.07  6.23 54.05  2.70
Durio zibenthinus Durian Isu Oren 168.26  9.92 64.86  2.70

Durian Tutong 79.93  13.40 68.47  4.12


68.41  1.90 73.87  1.56
64.57  3.43 54.05  2.70

Durio sp. Durian Hutan 292.79  14.35 60.36  8.69


113.95  2.5 47.75  4.13
123.27  3.29 –

Garcinia atroviridis Assam Gelugor 68.41  0.95 72.97  2.70


Garcinia parvifolia Kundung Sarawak 95.84  3.43 79.28  7.80
Garcinia prainiana Cerapu 1668.15  11.68 91.90  0.00

Leppisanthes rubiginosa Mertajam 1110.21  38.99 54.05  2.70


1308.26  79.94 50.45  5.63

Phyllanthus emblica Buah Melaka 2664.97  115.40 81.98  5.63


Pometia sp. Lengeng Sarawak 894.61  81.19 97.30  0.00
Salacca conferta Assam Kelubi 1455.29  62.14 84.68  8.69
Syzygium jambos Jambu Mawar 555.57  28.33 90.09  3.12
Psidium guajava Jambu Susu 1394.94  81.04 63.96  7.80
Ziziphus mauritania Bidara 1321.98  4.14 57.66  8.26
Mangifera foetida Bacang Gelok 763.49  11.52 90.99  1.56
Bacang 491.94  8.55 79.28  3.12
815.61  24.26 97.30  0.00
579.71  5.29 83.78  0.00
763.50  11.52 31.53  4.13
849.63  27.06 68.47  4.12
663.10  8.55 75.68  2.70
Mangifera odorata Kuini 487.00  8.23 72.07  1.56
523.21  16.21 74.78  4.13
388.80  9.93 69.37  1.56
245.06  15.87 71.17  3.12
372.89  4.14 93.69  1.56
2664.97  115.40 81.08  2.70
291.69  13.20 72.07  4.13
268.65  2.51 66.67  3.12
229.70  12.46 79.27  3.12
906.13  28.99 73.87  1.56
433.78  10.96 62.16  2.70
549.54  14.25 81.08  0.00
Mangifera pajang Bambangan 221.47  10.71 68.47  1.56
Bambangan Masam Manis 339.97  20.58 48.65  2.70
Nephelium malaiense Mata Kucing 275.79  7.60 56.76  0.00
Nephelium ramboutan-ake Pulasan Hijau 240.67  18.50 72.07  4.13
Pulasan Hitam 433.78  12.46 74.77  1.56
Pulasan Kuning 144.67  1.65 76.58  4.13
Sandoricum macropodum Sentol Tempatan 3185.05  59.00 74.77  3.12
Sentol Bangkok 1022.99  92.70 85.59  1.56

97%. Cynometra cauliflora contained the lowest AC compared to genera of fruits from different locations exhibited a variation in
other studied fruits. The AC (>70%) of the studied genera was in the antioxidant capacity. These findings agree with those of Salunkhe
order of Pometia > Averrhoa > Syzygium > Salacca > Phyllanthus > and Desai (1988).
Garcinia > Sandoricum > Baccaurea > Bouea > Nephelium (Fig. 1). Among 17 genera of the studied fruits, Sandoricum and
High AC was observed in the studied fruits that had sour (e.g. Phyllanthus contained the highest TPC (>2000 mg/100 g edible
Baccaurea, Garcinia, Mangifera and Pometia) and bitter tastes (e.g. portion), while other 7 genera contained a moderately high amount
Phyllanthus and Averrhoa). of TPC (Bouea < Leppisanthes < Averrhoa < Ziziphus < Psidium <
In the b-carotene bleaching assay, oxidation of linoleic acid Salacca < Cynometra), ranging from 1000 to 2000 mg GAE/100 g
releases linoleic acid peroxide as free radicals that oxidize edible portion. Mangifera, Syzygium, Garcinia, Baccaurea and
b-carotene resulting in discoloration, thus decreasing the absor- Pometia fruits contained 509, 556, 611, 853, and 894 mg GAE/
bance value (Talcott et al., 2000). A linear relationship was found 100 g of TPC, respectively. The lowest values of TPC were found
between the ability of the sample extract to inhibit oxidation and for Durio, Dimorcarpus and Nephelium fruits (<500 mg/100 g)
antioxidant capacity. In this study, it was observed that the same (Table 1).
E.H.K. Ikram et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 22 (2009) 388–393 391

Fig. 1. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of 17 genera of underutilized fruits. Values are expressed as mean  SD of triplicate measurements.

Mango (Mangifera indica) was previously reported to have a TPC Amarowicz et al. (1993) also reported that flaxseed with the lowest
in the range of 47 mg GAE/100 g (Brunswick Labs, 2002) to 209 mg TPC had exhibited the highest AC.
GAE/100 g edible portion (Sonia et al., 2007). However, our Pearson correlations coefficient showed that among 17 studied
findings showed a higher value of TPC in Mangifera foetida, fruit genera, 5 genera showed positive correlations, while the other
Mangifera odorata and Mangifera pajang (221–2665 mg GAE/ 12 genera showed negative correlations between AC and TPC
100 g). Mahatanatawee et al. (2005) reported lower values of (Table 2). There was a high and significant correlation (p < 0.01)
TPC (159–232 mg GAE/100 g) for different species of Syzygium fruit between AC and TPC (r = 0.93). Sandoricum fruit exhibited the
compared to our findings. The presence of lypophilic compounds in highest positive correlation (r = 0.852); Ziziphus fruit showed the
the fruits may contribute to variation in TPC. Deepa et al. (2006) highest negative correlation (r = 0.997).
and George et al. (2005) reported that the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent Previous studies suggested that there was a strong correlation
method may overestimate TPC, because reducing agents, such as between AC and TPC (Deighton et al., 2000; Soong and Barlow,
ascorbic acid, may interfere with the results. However, different 2004; Dykes et al., 2005). Similar studies on AC using b-carotene
phenolic compounds have different responses in the Folin– bleaching coupled with oxidation of linoleic acids and Folin assay
Ciocalteu method (Heinonen et al., 1998; Kahkonen et al., 1999). had found a positive correlation between AC and TPC (Tsushida
Underutilized fruits that contained high TPC may not have high et al., 1994; Kaur and Kapoor, 2002). However, there are findings
AC, as shown in Fig. 1. Leppisanthes fruit had 46% of AC and indicating that AC and TPC do not correlate with each other (Sun
1869 mg GAE/100 g of TPC, while Pometia fruit had 97% of AC with and Ho, 2004; Amin and Lee, 2005; Amin et al., 2006). The
moderate amount of TPC (895 mg GAE/100 g). Similar results were molecular antioxidant response of phenolic compounds in methyl
obtained for Garcinia, Nephelium and Syzygium fruits. Our findings linoleate varies remarkably depending on their chemical structure
are in agreement with Mahatanatawee et al. (2005). Moreover, (Statue-Gracia et al., 1997). Thus, the AC of an extract cannot be
predicted on the basis of its phenolic content, but also requires
proper characterization of individual phenolic compounds. How-
Table 2
ever, there are several reasons to explain the ambiguous relation-
Relationship between antioxidant capacity and total phenolic
content. ship between AC and TPC found in published studies. The
variations may be due to a high content of reducing agents such
Genera Correlation coefficient (r)
as ascorbic acid, minerals and carotenoids in the fruits (George
Bouea 0.955 et al., 2005; Deepa et al., 2006), high protein content or genetic,
Garcinia 0.852** agronomic and environmental influences (Jagdish et al., 2007).
Pometia 0.410
There are several methodological limitations for antioxidant
Cynometra 0.352
Averrhoa 0.333
determinations, which were reported by Kaur and Kapoor (2001).
Nephelium 0.062 The most widely used methods for measuring AC are those that
Mangifera 0.072 involve the generation of radical species, where the presence of
Leppisanthes 0.148 antioxidants determines the disappearance of radicals (Cao et al.,
Durio. 0.382*
1993). It is important to use different assays, instead of relying on a
Dimorcarpus 0.596
Syzygium 0.620 single assay to assess and compare the antioxidant capacity. Thus,
Psidium 0.733 the second line of work was carried out to determine the
Phyllanthus 0.823 antioxidant activity by FRAP and DPPH assays using nine different
Baccaurea 0.839* species of underutilized fruits.
Salacca 0.887
Sandoricum 
0.923**
The FRAP value, scavenging activity and TPC of nine selected
Ziziphus 0.997* fruit species are presented in Table 3. The mean FRAP values of the
studied fruits showed Maipighia punicirolia > Flacourtia
Data were statistically analyzed using Pearson correlation
coefficient test.
rukam > Garcinia atroviridis > Psidium guajava = Carissa caran-
*
Indicates a significant difference at the level of p < 0.05. das = Ziziphus mauritiana > Pouteria campechiana > Syzygium
**
Indicates a significant difference at the level of p < 0.01. malaccense. However, the means of FRAP values were significantly
392 E.H.K. Ikram et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 22 (2009) 388–393

Table 3
Comparison of FRAP, scavenging activity and total phenolic content of underutilized fruits.

Scientific name Common name FRAP value (mM) Scavenging activity (%) Total phenolic content (mg GAE/100 g)
c ecf
Maipighia punicirolia Ceri 4.34  0.25 81.04  0.38 107.0  0.4a
Flacourtia rukam Rokam Manis 2.09  0.13d 78.09  0.39bce 40.0  0.2c
Garcinia atroviridis Asam Gelugor 0.67  0.08b 86.40  2.20f 29.0  0.2d
Psidium guajava Jambu 0.46  0.13ab 74.62  1.19bec 31.1  0.1d
Carissa carandas Kerandang 0.46  0.10ab 43.57  1.53a 12.0  0.0f
Ziziphus mauritiana Bidara 0.46  0.07ab 74.96  0.44bc 41.0  0.3c
Pouteria campechiana Kuning Telur 0.43  0.09ab 73.32  0.72b 21.0  0.1b
Mangifera odorata Kuini 0.28  0.10a 45.68  11.09a 8.0  0.0e
Syzygium malaccense Jambu Bol 0.22  0.03a 17.01  0.32d 6.0  0.0e

Values are expressed as mean  SD of triplicate measurement. Superscripts with different letters are significantly different at p < 0.05 within the same column.

different (p < 0.05) between M. punicirolia and other species, while collecting and providing the underutilized fruits and the Universiti
the FRAP values of M. odorata, P. campechiana, Z. mauritiana, S. Putra Malaysia for the laboratory facilities.
malaccense, P. guajava and C. carandas did not show any significant
difference.
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