Evaluation of the Antioxidant Properties of Litchi Fruit Phenolics in Relation to Pericarp Browning Prevention.docVIP

Molecules 2007, 12, 759-771 molecules ISSN 1420-3049 / Full Paper Evaluation of the Antioxidant Properties of Litchi Fruit Phenolics in Relation to Pericarp Browning Prevention Xuewu Duan 1, Genfu Wu 2 and Yueming Jiang 1,* 1 South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Leyiju 510650; P. R. China; E-mail: xwduan@ 2 College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012; P. R. China; E-mail: wugenfu@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Email: ymjiang@; Tel.: (+86) 20 Fax: (+86) 20Received: 14 March 2007; in revised form: 25 March 2007 / Accepted: 30 March 2007 / Published: 11 April 2007 Abstract: Phenolics were extracted from litchi fruit pericarp (LFP) tissues, purified and their antioxidant properties analyzed. LFP phenolics strongly inhibited linoleic acid oxidation and exhibited a dose-dependent free-radical scavenging activity against α,α- diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) and hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anions. The degradation of deoxyribose by hydroxyl radicals was inhibited by phenolics acting mainly as iron ion chelators, rather than by directly scavenging the radicals. Phenolics from litchi fruit pericarp were found to display similar reducing power activity as ascorbic acid. The effect of phenolic compound treatment on pericarp browning and electrolyte leakage of litchi fruit was also evaluated and it was observed that application of exogenous litchi phenolics to harvested litchi fruit significantly prevented pericarp browning and delayed increases in electrolyte leakage. These results suggest that litchi pericarp tissue phenolics could be beneficial in scavenging free radicals, maintaining membrane integrity and, thereby inhibiting pericarp browning of litchi fruit. Keywords: Litchi chinenesis Sonn; phenolics; antioxidant activity; reducing power; free radicals; lipid peroxidation.  Molecul