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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318015
Research Project: New Sustainable Processing Technologies to Produce Healthy, Value-Added Foods from Specialty Crops

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Changes in phenolic compounds and their antioxidant capacities in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Miller) during three edible maturity stages

Author
item WANG, BINI - University Of California
item HUANG, QINGYUAN - Northwest University
item VENKITASAMY, CHANDRASEKAR - University Of California
item CHAI, HONGKANG - Northwest University
item GAO, HUI - Northwest University
item CHENG, NI - Northwest University
item WEI, CAO - Northwest University
item LV, XINGANG - Northwest University
item Pan, Zhongli

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/2/2015
Publication Date: 10/9/2015
Citation: Wang, B., Huang, Q., Venkitasamy, C., Chai, H., Gao, H., Cheng, N., Wei, C., Lv, X., Pan, Z. 2015. Changes in phenolic compounds and their antioxidant capacities in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Miller) during three edible maturity stages. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 66:56-62.

Interpretive Summary: This study investigated the changes in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), individual phenolic compound content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and antioxidant capacity measured by FRAP assay of four phenolic fractions (free, esterified, glycosided and insoluble-bound) from jujube during three edible maturity stages. The data obtained from this study suggested that there were great changes in TPC, TFC, individual phenolics, and antioxidant activity of free, esterified, glycosided, and insoluble-bound phenolic fractions of jujube during its maturity. The insoluble-bound phenolic fractions from jujube contained a large number of phenolic compounds and showed high activities and therefore they should not be ignored. Consequently, WM stage was considered as a proper harvesting period for jujube to have high antioxidant ingredients and for development of potential natural antioxidants.

Technical Abstract: This study investigated the changes in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), individual phenolic compound content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and antioxidant capacity measured by FRAP assay of four phenolic fractions (free, esterified, glycosided and insoluble-bound) from jujube during three edible maturity stages. The maturity stages of jujubes were established as white maturity (WM), half-red maturity (HM) and red maturity (RM). The free fraction in jujube at WM stage had the highest TPC, TFC, total phenolic acid contents, DPPH radical scavenging activity and antioxidant activity. The phenolic contents and their activities greatly decreased with the increasing maturity stage. Caffeic acid was the most predominant in all detected phenolic compounds at WM stage, while rutin dominated at HM and RM stages. Even though most of phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity in jujube existed at the WM stage as the free form, the insoluble-bound phenolic fractions also contained a large number of phenolic compounds.