Antioxidant properties of different apple cultivars

Abstract

Dietary antioxidants can be an important part of the healthy diet. Polyphenols from the commonly consumed apple can be possible sources of intake of these phytochemicals.

In our study, the antioxidant properties of six apple cultivars (Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, Idared, Jonagold, Jonagored and Mutsu) harvested at commercial maturity were examined. Flesh and skin were separated and total phenolics by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and radical scavenging activities using DPPH method were determined for each. For all apples, polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of the skin were significantly higher than that of the flesh showing that apple peel is a valuable part of the fruit. There was a good linear correlation between the polyphenol content and FRAP showing that mainly polyphenols are responsible for this type of antioxidant reaction. Regarding the cultivars, there was an obvious difference between the antioxidant activities of the examined apples. The green variety Granny Smith showed the best results followed by the red-skin apples while yellow-skin apples had the lowest activity.