Fruits: A source of natural antioxidants (Polyphenols)

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are important components of a healthy diet and it is widely accepted all over the world that their consumption helps in prevention of chronic diseases. Phenolic compounds or Polyphenols constitute one of the most numerous and widely distributed groups of substances in the plants. These compounds have at least one aromatic ring with one or more hydroxyl groups and may be classified as flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Fruits contain a variety of compounds with antioxidant activity, including ascorbic acid, carotenoids and polyphenols such as flavonoids and phenolic acid. The study was conducted to determine total phenolic content in various fruits. Total phenolic content estimated in fruits were compared. Total phenols are estimated by Folin Denis reagent that produces blue color with polyphenols. Tannic acid was used as standard and results were expressed as tannic acid equivalent (Singh and Jambunathan, 1981) [11]. Total polyphenol content in the present study showed variation within fruits estimated. Sapota was found to be the richest (1.082 g/100 g) source of polyphenols followed by guava (872 mg/100 g), banana (544.43 mg/100 g), apple (372.2 mg/100 g), pomegranate (188.86 mg/100 g) and grapes green (179.46 mg/100 g). Fruits must be included in our daily diet for good health.