Author's personal copy - Bashan FoundationAuthor's personal copy Review The multiple nutrition...

Author's personal copy

Review

The multiple nutrition properties of some exotic fruits: Biological activity andactive metabolites

Valery M. Dembitsky a, Sumitra Poovarodom b, Hanna Leontowicz c, Maria Leontowicz c, Suchada Vearasilp d,Simon Trakhtenberg e, Shela Gorinstein a,⁎a The Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israelb Department of Soil Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailandc Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Warsaw 02787, Polandd Department of Plant Science and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture/Postharvest Technology Research Institute/Postharvest Technology Innovation Center, Chiang Mai University,Chiang Mai 50200, Thailande Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot 76100, Israel

a b s t r a c ta r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 26 November 2010Accepted 1 March 2011

Keywords:Exotic fruitsBioactive compoundsAntioxidant potentialRatsCholesterol-containing diets

The main objective of this review was to describe the physicochemical and nutritional characteristics oftwenty selected exotic fruits and the influence of their physiologically active compounds on human health,through scientifically proven information. The review presents the biologically active metabolites derivedfrom exotic fruits (polyphenols, flavonoids, flavanols, tannins, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, volatilecompounds, minerals, and organic acids) and various analytical methods for their detection (elementalanalysis, electrophoretic separation by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and fast protein liquid andion-exchange chromatography; GC–MS, HPLC/diode array detection (DAD), circular dichroism (CD),differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet spectroscopy, two-and three-dimensional fluorimetry (2D-FL) and (3D-FL), and antioxidant radical scavenging assays (DPPH,FRAP, CUPRAC, ABTS, and ORAC). The correlation between the polyphenols and other bioactive compounds,and their antioxidant activities was reported for different fruit extracts. During the last two decades ourinternational scientific group investigated in vitro the physicochemical and nutritional characteristics ofavocado, dragon fruit, durian, kiwifruit, mango, mangosteen, persimmon and snake fruit, and in vivo theirinfluence on laboratory animals and humans. Supplementation of diets with exotic fruits positively affectsplasma lipid profile, antioxidant activity and histological examination of aorta in rats fed cholesterol-containing diets.The interaction between drugs and serum albumin plays an important role in the distribution andmetabolismof drugs. The properties of polyphenol methanol extracts of exotic fruits showed the ability to quench serumalbumin by forming the complexes similar with the ones between proteins and pure flavonoids. Ourexperimental data and a wide range of other investigations are included in this review. In conclusion, it isnessasary to promote a consumption of exotic fruits (a rich source of natural antioxidants) as a supplement toeveryday human diet.

© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16722. Selected tropical and exotic fruits, their bioactive and pharmacological properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1673

2.1. Açaí . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16732.2. Acerola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16742.3. Avocado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16752.4. Dragon fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16762.5. Durian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16772.6. Graviola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1679

Food Research International 44 (2011) 1671–1701

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 2 6758690; fax: +972 2 6757076.E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Gorinstein).

0963-9969/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.03.003

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2.7. Guava . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16802.8. Kiwano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16812.9. Kiwifruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16812.10. Litchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16832.11. Longan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16832.12. Mango . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16852.13. Mangosteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16852.14. Passiflora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16862.15. Persimmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16872.16. Pineapple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16892.17. Rambutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16902.18. Snake fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16912.19. Star fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16932.20. Wax apple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1694

3. Comparison between different exotic fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16954. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1697Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1697References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1697

1. Introduction

The major source of biologically active substances, such asvitamins and secondary metabolites (polyphenols, carotenoids,sterols, glucosinolates, and saponins) is present in herbs, fruits andvegetables (Alothman, Bhat, & Karim, 2009; Cassileth, 2008; Xu et al.,2004; Yang, Paulino, Janke-Stedronsky, & Abawi, 2007; Yuka, Yumiko,Miyo, & Takashi, 2003). The consumption of fruits and vegetables isglobally insufficient and should be encouraged, and it may be useful toenhance fruit concentrations of vitamins and secondary metabolitesby genetic and/or environmental approaches (Poiroux-Gonord et al.,2010). It has been shown that individuals who eat daily five servingsor more of fruits and vegetables have approximately half the risk ofdeveloping a wide variety of cancer types, particularly those of thegastrointestinal tract (Gescher, Pastorino, Plummer, &Manson, 1998).The collected data (Burton-Freeman, 2010) suggest that consumingphenolic-rich fruits increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood.When the fruits are consumed with high fat and carbohydrate pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory meals, they may counterbalance theirnegative effects. It was reported that one of the important predis-posingmechanisms in the development of atherosclerosis is oxidationof the cholesterol-rich LDL-C particles (Aviram, 1993; Steinberg,Parthasarathy, Carew, Khoo, & Witztum, 1989; Witztum & Steinberg,1991). The oxidation of LDL-C enhances its atherogenicity andfacilitates penetration of lipids into the arterial wall, causing theocclusion of arteries in general and coronary arteries in particular. It isnow known that nutritional antioxidants in general, especiallyphenolic substances, can prevent lipid peroxidation. It was shownthat a low level of plasma antioxidants leads to a high mortality fromcoronary atherosclerosis (Rankin et al., 1993). Therefore, someauthors propose diets rich in vegetables and fruits, which are thenatural source of antioxidants (Lorgeril et al., 1994). There is evidencethat fruits and vegetables are playing a beneficial role in preventionand even treatment of different diseases (Kris-Etherton et al., 2002;Lim, Lim, & Tee, 2007; Luximon-Ramma, Bahorun, & Crozier, 2003;Paganga, Miller, & Rice-Evans, 1999; Proteggente et al., 2002). Somestudies have shown that dietary fiber and polyphenols of fruitsimprove lipid metabolism and prevent the oxidation of low densitylipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), which hinder the developmentof atherosclerosis (Gorinstein, Bartnikowska, Kulasek, Zemser, &Trakhtenberg, 1998; Gorinstein, Kulasek, et al., 1998; Gorinstein,Zemser, Haruenkit, et al., 1999; Gorinstein, Zemser, Vargas-Albores,et al., 1999). Indeed, recent experiments on rats fed diets supple-mented with persimmon show that this fruit exercises a markedantioxidant effect that is most likely due to a relatively high content of

polyphenols (Gorinstein et al., 2010). Some studies have shown theeffect of various phenols such as gallic acid, myricetin, flavan-3-ols(1)-catechin and (2)-epicatechin, and others as antioxidants. Gallicacid occurs naturally in plants and has been found to be pharmaco-logically active as an antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenicagent. It is an established fact that supplementation of diet with fruitsand vegetables prevents atherosclerosis and other diseases (Duttaroy& Jorgensen, 2004). It was shown that consumption of kiwifruitlowered blood triglyceride levels by 15% compared with control. Theauthors reported that consuming two or three kiwifruit per day for28 days reduced platelet aggregation response to collagen (Duttaroy& Jorgensen, 2004). It was demonstrated that consumption of certainberries and fruits such as blueberries, mixed grape and kiwifruit, wasassociated with increased plasma hydrophilic (H-) or lipophilic (L-)antioxidant capacity (AOC) measured as Oxygen Radical AbsorbanceCapacity (ORAC). AOC in the postprandial state and consumption of anenergy source of macronutrients containing no antioxidantswas associated with a decline in plasma AOC. Previous studies(Chidambara, Kotamballi, Jayaprakasha, & Patil, 2010) have demon-strated that D-limonene inhibits cancer cells (pulmonary, colon andbreast) based on cell culture and animal studies. D-Limonene, a majormonoterpene found in citrus, represents for 40–90% of volatilecomponents (Chidambara et al., 2010). Fruit flavor is important forhuman health. Many fruits including citrus, berries, mangosteen,pomegranate, have attracted much attention of their health benefitsdue to the wide range of bioactivities (Chen & Wang, 2008). Theantioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antimicrobial activi-ties are connected with phytochemicals, such as anthocyanins,flavonoids, polyphenolics, and vitamins. Similar biological activitiesof the essential oils in fruit seeds, flesh and peels have not been paidenough attention compared with those of non-volatile chemicals. Thechemical compounds and metabolites of fruit flavors, as well as theirbioactivities and bioavailabilities in relation to their potential impacton human health and diseases have to be studied. In recent yearssome pharmacological activities such as anti-tyrosinase, anti-glycatedand anticancer activities, and memory-enhancing effects of longanaril, pericarp or seed extract have been found, implicating a significantcontribution to human health (Yang, Jiang, Shi, Chen, & Ashraf, 2011-this issue). The synergetic effect, which could exist betweenindividual bioactive compounds, means that the antioxidant capacitymay be higher than their sum (Poeggeler et al., 1995), and not onlyindividual bioactive compounds, but also the overall antioxidantcapacity have to be determined in fruits. Some antioxidant assays givedifferent antioxidant activity trends (Ou, Huang, Hampsch-Woodill,Flanagan, & Deemer, 2002). Total phenolics, flavonoids and flavanols

1672 V.M. Dembitsky et al. / Food Research International 44 (2011) 1671–1701


of natural products and related to these compounds antioxidantactivity have a health protective effect (Andreasen, Christensen, Meyer,& Hansen, 2000; Leontowicz, Leontowicz, Drzewiecki, Haruenkit, et al.,2006; Leontowicz, Leontowicz, Drzewiecki, Jastrzebski, et al., 2007; Limet al., 2007; Shui & Leong, 2005; Yang et al., 2007; Zadernowski,Czaplicki, & Naczk, 2009). Exotic fruits play exactly the same role in theprevention of atherosclerosis, therefore a detailed description has tobe paid to this kind of fruits. Tropical fruit crops are common in thegeographical zone stretching from 30 south latitude with up to 30north latitude. Temperature conditions in this area differ (the averagein year 25 °C, while the oscillations are observed from 16 to 36 °C). Inthe tropics, the maximum number of cultivated plant families: hereare grown not only plants that are in the culture of temperate andsubtropical zones, but also endemic to many families. In tropicalcountries, fruits play a major role in human life. Bananas, breadfruitand papaya trees, nuts, coconut and fruit of date palms are among thebasic food of the population in the tropics. A large number of exoticfruits can be seen in Malaysia throughout the year (Alothman et al.,2009; Ikram et al., 2009). Among the variety of fruits that can bedistinguished are papaya, rambutan, guava, chiku, coconut, durian,pineapple, mango, watermelon, dooku, mangosteen, bananas, pomelo,jumbo sweet flag and cannon. Lorenzi, Bacher, Lacerda, and Sartori(2006) described 827 tropical fruits, including 389 species and 438cultivars in Brazil. Tropical and subtropical fruits, such as mango,guava, papaya, persimmon and many others, are well known in NorthAmerica and Europe, and the scientific basis for their consumption iswell founded (Dube et al., 2004; Garcia, Magpantay, & Escobin, 2005;Leontowicz et al., 2006). Tropical and subtropical fruits, such as redand white guava, green and ripe mango, banana, passion fruit, starfruit, rose apple, papaya, lime, passiflora, kumquat, pineapple,carambola, feijoa, kiwano, cherimoya, sapodilla, mamey, lychee andlongan, are common ingredients of diets in North America andnowadays in Europe as well (De Assis et al., 2009; Doyama, Rodrigues,Novelli, Cereda, & Vilegas, 2005; Dube et al., 2004; Kondo, Kittikorn, &Kanlayanarat, 2005; Luximon-Ramma et al., 2003; Mahattanatawee,Manthey, Talcott, Goodner, & Baldwin, 2005; Murcia, Jimenez, &Martinez-Tome, 2001; Nilsson et al., 2005; Proteggente et al., 2002;Talcott, Percival, Pittet-Moore, & Celoria, 2003; Wu et al., 2005; Yukaet al., 2003). The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities and polyphenol contents of some tropical driedfruits were evaluated and compared with fresh fruits. The qualities ofpersimmon, hawthorn and apricot were close to those of the dryfruits and showed high DPPH radical-scavenging activity (Ishiwata,Yamaguchi, Takamura, &Matoba, 2004; Park, Jung, Kang, Delgado-Licon,Ayala, et al., 2006). The consumption of newexotic fruits has significantlyincreased (Corral-Aguayo, Yahia, Carrillo-Lopez, & Gonzalez-Aguilar,2008; Haruenkit, Poovarodom, Leontowicz, et al., 2007; Haruenkit,Poovarodom, Vearasilp, et al., 2010; Luximon-Ramma et al., 2003).Among these fruits durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) is less known than

mango (Mangifera indica L.) (Dutta, Kundu, & Ahmed, 2008; Masibo &He, 2008; Melo, Maciel, Galvao de Lima, & Rodrigues de Araujo, 2008;Robles-Sanchez et al., 2009; Wu & Ke, 2008) and avocado (Perseaamericana) (Elez-Martinez, Soliva-Fortuny, Gorinstein, & Martín-Belloso, 2005). It was shown that durian (Haruenkit et al., 2010),mango (Masibo & He, 2008; Robles-Sanchez et al., 2007; Robles-Sanchez et al., 2009) and avocado (Elez-Martinez et al., 2005) possesseshigh nutritional and bioactive properties. Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)is rich in bioactive compounds especially in polyphenols (Park, Jung, &Gorinstein, 2006; Park, Jung, Kang, Deldado-Licon, Katrich, et al., 2006;Park, Jung, Kang, Drzewiecki, et al., 2006).

This review describes the bioactivity of 20 exotic fruits, theirproperties and their influence on metabolism as supplementation tohuman diet. The volatile substances, fatty acids and other metaboliteswhich are important for the human health are reviewed. Till now suchreview on exotic fruits was not published, because this review is basednot only on the literature data, but also on some of our experiments,which are for the first time reported in the review. The collected dataare important from the point of the comparison of 20 exotic fruits intheir fresh form exactly as these fruits are mostly consumed in humandiet.

2. Selected tropical and exotic fruits, their bioactive andpharmacological properties

2.1. Açaí

The homeland of açaí (Euterpe oleracea, acaizeiro) is northernBrazil and the most abundant palm açaí grows in the Brazilian state ofPará. Açaí fruit has an unusual taste, which is reminiscent of the tasteof raspberries and blackberries with a touch of walnut, and especiallyrich in iron, vitamins B1 and E. The outside skin is of a similar textureas a blueberry, smooth on the exterior to the touch, showing the samesize, shape, and color. The inside of the açai berry is soft and is easilyformed into a pulp, which is one of the preferred forms of this fruit. It

Table 1Phytosterol composition (mg per 100 g) of analyzed fruits and nuts.a

Sample Brassicasterol Campesterol Stigmasterol β-Sitosterol+sitostanol Δ5-Avenasterol+Δ7-stigmasterol Δ7-Avenasterol

Brazil nut 1.5 4.0 11.3 79.0 6.8 NDCotia nut NDb 5.0 25.0 50.0 ND NDMucaja nut 1.0 25.0 5.3 130.0 42.3 2.0Mucaja pulp 3.0 21.0 12.0 64.3 20.3 2.3Red açaí pulp ND 5.0 12.0 94.0 18.0 NDInaja pulp 3.5 23.5 7.5 79.5 27.5 NDJenipapo pulp ND 1.0 8.0 150.0 21.0 4.0Jenipapo nut ND ND 74.0 123.0 33.0 3.0Buriti pulp 2.5 16.0 38.5 154.5 3.5 NDBuriti nut ND 8.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 NDUxi pulp 19.0 8.0 12.0 88.0 ND ND

a The values are expressed as mean±standard deviation (n=9).b ND=not detected.

Table 2Tocopherol composition (μg/g) of analyzed fruits and nuts.a

Sample α-Tocopherol γ-Tocopherol δ-Tocopherol Totaltocopherol

α-TEb

Brazil nut 72.5 74.3 5.9 152.8 80.2Red açaí pulp 147.7 ND ND 147.7 147.7Inajá pulp 114.8 50.9 ND 165.8 117.4Buriti pulp 252.2 878.4 224.2 1129.8 346.7Buriti nut NDc 616.9 378.8 995.7 73.3Uxi pulp 167.2 337.5 ND 504.7 200.9

a Values expressed as mean±standard deviation (n=9).b α-TE=α-tocopherol equivalents.c ND=not detected.

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is also considered quite useful as a freeze-dried powder. Processing offruit and wood of açaí is fundamental to the industry in the region(Lorenzi et al., 2006). Palm red varieties are more common thanwhite. The availability of açai berries in Brazil is between July andDecember. In the studied species, which were from the North andNortheast regions of Brazil (Red açai (E. oleracea M), Cotia nut(Aptandra spruceana M.), Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.),Mucaja (Couma rigida M.), Inaja (Maximiliana maripa D.), Jenipapo(Genipa americana L.), Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.) and Uxi (Endopleurauchi C.)), phytosterol and tocopherol contents were reported. Thepulps of Mucaja (26–236), Inaja (119–285) and Jenipapo (216) showedthe highest total phytosterol contents (mg/100 g). Considering α-tocopherol equivalent, the pulps of Buriti (346.72 μg/g) and Uxi(200.92 μg/g) contained the highest vitamin E activity. The resultsindicate that these fruits and nuts have high potential to be cultivatedand marketed as alternative dietary sources for these bioactivecompounds (Costa, Ballus, Teixeira-Filho, & Godoy, 2010). All thesamples contain β-sitosterol+sitostanol as the major phytosterols(Table 1), mostly in the case of Mucaja, Jenipapo and Buriti pulps. Thephytosterol, which was detected in the lowest concentrations, was Δ7-avenasterol. Among the fruits and nuts assayed, Buriti pulp showed(Table 2) the highest content of α-tocopherol (252.15 μg/g), followedby Uxi pulp (167.17 μg/g). These results suggested that Buriti and Uxican be considered for vitamin E sources. Obtained study confirms thepresence of cyanidin 3-0-glucoside and cyanidin 3-0-rutinoside asmajor anthocyanic compounds. Four main compounds were alsoidentified for the first time, i.e. homoorientin, orientin, taxifolindeoxyhexose, and isovitexin. Traces of methyl-derivatives of homo-orientin were also detected (Gallori, Bilia, Bergonzi, Barbosa, & Vincieri,2004). Anthocyanin and polyphenolic compounds present in açai(E. oleracea Mart.) were determined and their respective contributionto the overall antioxidant capacity established. Cyanidin 3-glucoside(1040 mg/L)was thepredominant anthocyanin in açai and correlated toantioxidant content, while 16 other polyphenolics were detected from12 to 636 mg/kg. Açai was recognized for its functional properties foruse in food and nutraceutical products (Del Pozo-Insfran, Brenes, &Talcott, 2004). Açai fruit (E. oleracea Mart.) has been demonstrated toexhibit extremely high antioxidant capacity. Seven major flavonoidswere isolated from freeze-dried açaí pulp. Their structures (Fig. 1) wereelucidated as orientin, homoorientin, vitexin, luteolin, chrysoeriol,quercetin, and dihydrokaempferol. Compounds vitexin and quercetinwere reported from açai pulp for the first time (Kang et al., 2010).Antioxidant capacities of these flavonoids were evaluated by OxygenRadical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay, cell-based antioxidantprotection (CAP-e) assay and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formationin polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells (ROS PMN assay). ORAC valuesvaried distinctly (1420–14,800 μmol TE/g) among the seven com-pounds based on numbers and positions of hydroxyl groups and/orother substitute groups. The ORAC values of aglycones are generallyhigher than that of glycosides. CAP-e results indicated (Fig. 1) that onlythree compounds (luteolin, quercetin, and dihydrokaempferol) couldenter the cytosol and contribute to the reduction of oxidative damagewithin the cell. The ROS PMN assay showed that five compounds(homoorientin, vitexin, chrysoeriol, quercetin, and dihydrokaempferol)demonstrated exceptional effects by reducing ROS formation in PMNcells, which produced high amounts of ROS under oxidative stress. Inevaluating the antioxidant capacity of natural products, combining bothchemical and cell-based assays will provide more comprehensiveunderstanding of antioxidant effects and potential biological relevance(Kang et al., 2010). Absorption experiments (Pacheco-Palencia, Talcott,Safe, & Mertens-Talcott, 2008), using a Caco-2 intestinal cell monolayerdemonstrated that phenolic acids such as p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic,syringic, and ferulic acids, in the presence of DMSO, were readilytransported from the apical to the basolateral side along withmonomeric flavanols such as (+)-catechin and (−)-epicatechin.Results from this study provide further evidence for the bioactive

properties of açai polyphenolics and offer new insight on theircomposition and cellular absorption. Açai improves (Sun, Jiang, et al.,2010; Sun, Seeberger, et al., 2010) survival of flies fed a high fat dietthrough activation of stress response pathways and suppression ofPepck expression. Açai has the potential to antagonize the detrimentaleffect of fat in the diet and alleviate oxidative stress in aging.

2.2. Acerola

Acerola (Malpighia punicifolia Linn.) or Barbados Cherry,West IndianCherry, Cereza, Cerisier, Semeruco, aceroleira, cereja-das-antilhas,cereja-de-bárbaros, is originated from the Yucatan and is distributedfrom South Texas, through Mexico (especially on the West Coast fromSonora to Guerrero) and Central America to northern South America(Venezuela, Surinam, and Columbia) and throughout the Caribbean(Bahamas to Trinidad). Currently, the most extensive plantations ofacerola are in South America, India and Brazil (De Assis et al., 2009;Lorenzi et al., 2006). The fruit is round to oblong in shape, with adiameter between 1 to 2 cm and 20 g of weight. The thick texture of theacerola is juicy and soft, it has thin bright red edible skin, a very sweettaste and a pleasant tart apple like flavor, when fully ripe. It has a clearpale yellow color. The availability of the fruit is in the period of May–November. Acerola is one of the fruits which contains mainly naturalvitamin C sources. Acerola contains a large number of pro-vitamin A,vitamins B1 and B2, niacin, albumin, iron, phosphorus and calcium, richin vitamin C. The vitamin C in acerola exceeds 30–100 times the vitamin

Dihydrokaempferol

O

O

OH

OH

OH

HO

Orientin,R1, R3, R6, R7 = OH, R4 =Glc, R2,R5 = HHomoorientin,R1, R3, R6, R7 = OH, R2 = Glc, R4, R5 = HVitexin,R1, R3, R6 = OH, R4 = Glc, R2, R5, R7 = HLuteolin,R1, R3, R6, R7 = OH, R2, R4, R5 = HChryosoeriol,R1, R3, R6 = OH, R7 = OMe, R2, R4, R5 = HQuercetin,R1, R3, R5, R6, R7 = OH, R2, R4 = H

O

O

R6

R7

R5R1

R2

R3

R4

Fig. 1. Biologically active flavonoids, isolated from açai berries.This figure is adapted from Kang et al. (2010).



C in oranges (one cherry contains double the allowance intake ofvitamin C). The fruit is used in jellies, jams, and can be frozen withoutlosing its vitamin C content. 100 g of acerola with a low percentage ofwater (9.4%) has high calorie contents (332 kcal) due to 3.2 g lipids,16.94 gprotein and57.24 g carbohydrates in 100 g FW.Acerola containsa high content of crude fiber (26.5%), ash (0.4%), ascorbic acid (66 mg/gFW) and minerals (mg/100 g FW) such as iron (37), calcium (41),potassium (41), magnesium (22), zinc (0.09), manganese (0.7),phosphorus (0.08) and copper (0.15 μg/100 g FW). Such nutritionalmacro- and micro-component values make acerola one of the mostimportant fruits for human consumption (Rufino et al., 2010). Thereported results (Rufino et al., 2010; Sampaio et al., 2009) show theconsiderable antioxidant capacity by theDPPH,ABTS and FRAPmethodsfound for acerola, vitamin C, anthocyanins, yellow flavonoids, totalcarotenoids, and total extractable polyphenols. Its lipid fraction has thefollowing fatty acids: oleic (31.9%), linoleic (29.2%), palmitic (21.8%),stearic (13.9%) and linolenic (1.3%) (Medeiros De Aguiar, Rodrigues,Ribeiro Dos Santos, & Sabaa-Srur, 2010). Two acerola genotypes whichwere harvested from a Brazilian plantation during the 2003 and 2004summer harvests presented the major carotenoids (μg/100 g FW): β-carotene (265–1669), lutein (37–100),β-cryptoxanthin (16–56) andα-carotene (7.8–59). In both harvests, the β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthinandα-carotene levels were higher in the Olivier genotype, whereas thelutein content was higher in the Waldy Cati 30 genotype (De Rosso &Mercadante, 2005). Anthocyanin aglycons and other phenolic com-pounds were identified in acerola (M. punicifolia, L.). Anthocyanins,flavonoids, and phenolic acids were fractionated and characterized. Thetotal content of anthocyanin pigments was 37 mg/100 g of ripe acerolaskin. The identified phenolic pigments were pelargonidin, malvidin-3,5-diglycoside and cyanidin 3-glycoside (Fig. 2). Quercetin, kaempferol andthe phenolic acids (p-coumaric, ferulic, caffeic and chlorogenic) were alsoidentified (Vendramini & Trugo, 2000; Vendramini & Trugo, 2004). Fivedifferentpolyphenolic compoundswere identified in the samplesbyHPLCanddiode-array detection: chlorogenic acid, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate,(−)-epicatechin, procyanidin B1 and rutin, being the two last predom-inant. Three soluble polyphenolic fractions (phenolic acids, anthocyaninsand flavonoids) were separated from the different sample extracts, andtheir respective antioxidant activities calculated. Among them, phenolicacids are the main contributors to the antioxidant activity (Mezadri,Villaňo, Fernandez-Pachán, García-Parrilla, & Troncoso, 2008). The 31compounds in the mature (red) fruits, such as acetyl Me carbinol, 2-methylpropyl acetate, limonene, E or Z-octenal, Et hexanoate, isoprenylbutyrate and acetophenone; 23 — in the intermediate (yellow), such as,Mehexanoate, 3-octen-1-ol andhexyl butyrate, and14— in the immature

(green) fruit, such as Me Pr ketone, E or Z-hexenyl acetate and 1-octadecanol were identified in acerola fruit. Volatiles of acerola werecharacterized by GC/MS. 3-Methyl-3-buten-1-ol was identified as themajor constituent. Organoleptic properties of its esters are alsodocumented (Schippa, George, & Fellous, 1993).

2.3. Avocado

Avocado, or Perseus American (P. americana Mill.) is a kind ofevergreen fruit plants of the genus Perseus family, the type species ofthis genus, and an important fruit crops. The pear-shaped, egg-shapedor spherical fruit is 7–20 cm long, with a weight from 100 to 1000 gand has a large central seed (5–6.4 cm long). The non-processedavocado does not have a specific taste. In the world there are about500 varieties of avocados, which differ in the fruit shape and color.Flavor selection is hardly affected, and, of course, avocados retain theiruseful properties. The availability of the fruit is May–Februaryaccording to variety. In Mexico one of the most common and easy-care varieties of avocado Hass cultivar is harvested all year. The pulpcontains about 30% of fat, protein, calcium, iron, a large number of easilydigestible fats, mineral salts, vitamins E, B1, B2, and D. Avocado has apositive influence on short-term memory and reduces the risk of car-diovascular disease. Avocado is rich in serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) which is a monoamine neurotransmitter (Fig. 3). Other fruitsand nuts have also a high concentration of serotonin (μg/g wt) such aspineapple 17.0; banana 15.0; kiwifruit 5.8; plums 4.7; and tomatoes 3.2.Urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was measured in 129healthy subjects, 69 were on a free diet and 60 on a diet lacking theabove foods. The average excretion of serotonin was 3.49 mg/24 h forcontrol group, with a range of 1.10–7.92 mg/24 h, and the serotonin-poor group was 1.67 mg/24 h, with a range of 0.72–3.12 mg/24 h.Ingestion of these fruits resulted in an increase in urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid excretion with no change in plateletserotonin concentration (Feldman & Lee, 1985). Tryptophan is anessential amino acid andmetabolic precursor of serotonin. Serotoninis both a classical neurotransmitter and a signaling molecule thatplays crucial roles in the development of neural circuits and plasticity(Serfaty, Oliveira-Silva, Faria Melibeu, & Campello-Costa, 2008).Twenty-four minerals were quantified by inductively coupledplasma optical emission spectrometric analysis for avocado honeysamples. The elements Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P,Pb, S, Se, Si and Zn were detected in all samples (Terrab, Recamales,Gonzalez-Miret, & Heredia, 2005), seven elements were veryabundant (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, S and Si), five were not abundant (Al,Cu, Fe, Li and Zn) and 12 were trace elements (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Mo,Ni, Mo, Pb, Se, Sr and V). Avocado is a good source of bioactivecompounds such as monounsaturated fatty acids and sterols. Themain fatty acid identified and quantified in avocado was oleic acid(about 57% of total content), and linoleic, palmitoleic, cis-vaccenic,and γ-linolenic acids; β-sitosterol was found to be the major sterol

HN

HO

H2N

Serotonin

Fig. 3. Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter.This figure is adapted from Feldman and Lee (1985).

O

OMe

OH

OMe

O

O

HO

O

O

OH

O

O

HO

HO

OH

HO

OH

Malvidin-3,5-diglucoside

Cl-

Fig. 2. Diglycoside in acenole.This figure is adapted from Vendramini and Trugo (2004).



(about 89% of total content), and as well as stigmasterol, andcampesterol (Plaza, Sanchez-Moreno, de Pascual-Teresa, de Ancos, &Cano, 2009). The chrysanthemaxanthin, as a major pigment inavocado pulp, was confirmed by mass spectrometry and the identityof neoxanthin similarly established. A carbonyl pigment wasidentified as 3-hydroxysintaxanthin. Two new apocarotenoidswere isolated. The structure of 5,8-epoxy-5,8-dihydro-10′-apo-β-caroten-3,10′-diol was assigned. The other carotenoid had an acidlabile pentaene chromophore, and structure was tentativelyassigned on similar evidence. These substances were the first naturalallyic apocarotenols whose structures were established (Gross,Gabai, Lifshitz, & Sklarz, 1974). β-Caryophyllene (44%) and valen-cene (16%) were the most abundant compounds in the oil. Otherquantitatively significant constituents (Ogunbinu, Ogunwande,Flamini, & Cioni, 2007) were germacrene D (6%), α-humulene (5%)and δ-cadinene (5%).

Volatile components of two cultivars of avocado fruits (Californiaand Haas) were isolated by simultaneous steam distillation andsolvent extraction. Both cultivars had 227 and 289 μg/kg of totalvolatile compounds, respectively. Major components were (E)-nerolidol, with lesser amounts of β-caryophyllene, β-pinene, trans-α-bergamotene and β-bisabolene (Pino, Rosado, & Aguero, 2000).Hydrocarbons (mainly sesquiterpenes) and alkanals were thepredominant constituents present. In the immediate extraction ofthe avocado mesocarp, β-caryophyllene (60%) was the main sesqui-terpene, followed by α-humulene (5.9%), caryophyllene oxide (4.8%),α-copaene (4.5%) and α-cubebene as the main hydrocarbons;alkanals were present, but only in low concentrations. The β-caryophyllene (29%) was the main sesquiterpene, followed by α-copaene (11%), a cadinene isomer (8.5%), α- and β-cubebene (7.7%),α-farnesene (5.3%) and octane (4.8%) as principal hydrocarbons;decenal (6.3%) and heptenal (3.2%) were the main aldehydes(Sinyinda & Gramshaw, 1998). The n-alkane composition of avocadopulp oil (cv. Hass) was investigated during fruit ripening. Fourteencompounds were detected ranging from n-C21 to n-C34; mainly n-C24, followed by n-C25 and then by n-C23. Quantities of n-C21, n-C22,n-C23, n-C27 and n-C28 progressively increased during ripening,whereas n-C24, n-C25, n-C26, n-C29, n-C30 and n-C34 decreased fromthe first harvest date to the third harvest date. While odd-numberedcarbon n-alkanes increased (52.38%, 52.85% and 53.06% for the threesamples, respectively), even-numbered carbon n-alkanes decreasedas the fruit ripened (47.62%, 47.15% and 46.94%). The total n-alkanecontent (Giuffre, 2005) decreased during ripening, from 25.20 mg/kg(first harvest date) to 17 mg/kg (third harvest date). As it wasdescribed (Bezabih, Pellikaan, Tolera, & Hendriks, 2011) n-alkanes canbe used as diet composition markers. The major bioactive compoundsand antioxidant potential of avocado were studied and comparedwith durian and mango (Elez-Martinez et al., 2005; Gorinstein,Leontowicz, et al., 2011; Poovarodom et al., 2010). It was reportedthat for this purpose HPLC, three-dimensional fluorescence (3D-FL),several radical scavenging assays and multivariate factor analysiswere used. In durian, mango and avocado the following majornutritional components were observed: total fiber (g/100 g FW),3.2 ±0.3, 2.9±0.2 and 6.2±0.5; total proteins, 1.4±0.1, 0.8±0.06and 1.9±0.2; total fats, 5.3±0.4, 0.4±0.03 and 21.2±1.3; carbohy-drates, 27.1±1.6, 28.2±1.6 and 8.3±0.6. It was reported that thecontents of total fiber, proteins and fats were significantly higher(pb0.05) in avocado. The carbohydrates were significantly lower inavocado (pN0.05) than in the two other fruits. It was found asimilarity in acetone extracts between durian and mango in thecontents of polyphenols (1.66±0.08, 1.48±0.05, mg GAE/g DW,respectively), and in some antioxidant assays such as ABTS (11.98±0.5, 12.24±0.5, μm TE g−1 DW, respectively) and DPPH (5.61±0.3,5.22±0.2, μm TE g−1 DW, respectively). Durian and avocado weresimilar in the contents of polyphenols, ABTS and DPPH values in waterand in methanol extracts. The nutritional and bioactive properties of

avocado are comparable with those indices in mango and durian. Inorder to obtain the best results, a combination of these fruits has to beincluded in diets as was shown by Gorinstein et al. (2011-this issue)and Poovarodom et al. (2010).

2.4. Dragon fruit

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus sp) or red pitaya (or pitahaya), is the fruitof the cactus species Hylocereus undatus. The plant is nicknamedQueen of the Night, Moonflower and/or Lady of the Night, because thelarge flowers only bloom at night time. The skin of the dragon fruit is athin rind and usually covered in scales, and the center of the fruit ismade up of a red or white, sweet tasting pulp which rememberskiwifruit. The flesh is mildly sweet. Because of its exotic andimpressive appearance, this fruit enjoys growing popularity in Europeand the United States. The fruit is also converted into juice or used toflavor other beverages. The availability of the fruit is April–May andSeptember–November, but year round according to variety. Thisexotic fruit is native to Mexico and Central and South America and isalso cultivated in Southeast Asian countries.H. undatus andHylocereuspolyrhizus are two varieties of the commonly called pitaya fruits.Essential fatty acids, namely, linoleic acid and linolenic acid form asignificant percentage of the unsaturated fatty acids of the seed oilextract. Both pitaya varieties exhibit two oleic acid isomers. Bothpitaya varieties (Ariffin et al., 2009) contain about 50% essential fattyacids: oleic acid (C18:1, 21–24%), linoleic acid (C18:2, 48–50%) andlinolenic acid (C18:3, 1.0–1.5%), and cis-vaccenic acid (C18:1, 2.8–3%).Fast protein liquid and ion-exchange chromatography, fluorescence,Fourier transform IR (FT-IR) spectra, elemental and electrophoreticanalyses were described to characterize proteins from 7 species ofCactaceae, which can be divided into 3 groups based on their chemicaland biochemical properties. Ammonium sulfate precipitation yieldedcomplex of electrophoretic patterns with the major bands of 24 and32 kDa. The SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic (PAGE) patternsdid not differ by the year of sample collection (1986 and 1992). It wasdisclosed that protein characterization of cactus juices may be usefulin cactus taxonomy at the family level. Differences in the emissionpeak response and fluorescence intensity in fluorescence emission, aswell as the changes in amide band content in FT-IR spectra werereported (Gorinstein, Zemser, Vargas-Albores, & Ochoa, 1995).Characterization of three cactus proteins (native and denatured)from Machaerocereus gummosus (Pitahaya agria), Lophocereu schottii(Garambullo), and Cholla opuntia (Cholla), was based on electropho-retic, fluorescence, CD, DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), andFT-IR measurements. The stated results of intrinsic fluorescence, DSC,and CD were dissimilar for the three species of cactus, providingevidence of differences in secondary and tertiary structures. It wasverified by Gorinstein et al. (1995) that cactus proteins may besituated in the following order corresponding to their relativestability: M. gummosus (Pitahaya agria)NC. opuntia (Cholla)NL. schottii(Garambullo). Thermodynamic properties of `proteins and theirchanges upon denaturation (temperature of denaturation, enthalpy,and the number of ruptured hydrogen bonds) were correlated withthe secondary structure of proteins and disappearance of α-helix(Gorinstein, Zemser, Vargas-Albores, et al., 1999). From the studiesshown below (Gorinstein, Zemser, Vargas-Albores, et al., 1999;Gorinstein et al., 1995) the most useful from the Cactaceae family arePitaya agria or Sour Pitaya (M. gummosus) and Pitaya Dulce (Stenocereusthurberi). The fruit of Pitaya Agria is even sweeter than the fruit of PitayaDulce. Pitaya is a perennial plant with triangular cactus genus, of whichfruit is rich in nutritive value and can be eaten directly, flowers can beused as vegetables, but the pitaya stems are not being used (Guo, Dai,Liang, & Li, 2010). H. undatus and H. polyrhizus are two varieties of thecommonly calledpitaya fruits.Dragon fruit (H.polyrhizus) iswell knownfor the richnutrient contents and it is availableworldwide for improvingmany health problems. Maximum antioxidant capacity, total phenolic



and betalain contents were observed in the genotype ‘Lisa’ of 5 differentCosta Rican genotypes of purple pitaya (Hylocereus sp.) and ofH. polyrhizus fruits. While non-betalainic phenolic compounds contrib-uted only to a minor extent, betalains were responsible for the majorantioxidant capacity of purple pitaya juices evaluated (Esquivel,Stintzing, & Carle, 2007; Kugler, Stintzing, & Carle, 2007). The bioactivecompounds in red dragon fruit were the following: 86.10 mg GAE oftotal polyphenolic compound in 0.50 g of dried dragon fruit; tannins of2.30 mg CE/g (catechin equivalents); DPPH showed that the effectiveconcentration (EC50) for dragon fruit was 2.90 mM vitamin Cequivalents/g dried extract (Rebecca, Boyce, & Chandran, 2010). Totalphenol (R2=0.97) and ascorbic acid (R2=0.79) concentrationswere correlated with the antioxidant capacity of four pitaya cactus(Stenocereus stellatus Riccobono) fruit types (red, cherry, yellow andwhite), but the contribution of ascorbic acid accounts only for 4–6% ofantioxidant capacity. White and yellow types contained a higheramount of phenol compounds and ascorbic acid than the cherry andred types. The antioxidant capacity displayed by the four pitaya types issimilar to those reported for some fruits of the Vaccinium genus,regarded as the fruits having the highest antioxidant capacity. Theconsumption of pitaya fruits could provide the same protective effectagainst free radicals as berries of the Vaccinium genus, reducing risk ofchronic diseases; thus pitaya fruits can be considered as potentialnutraceutical food (Beltran-Orozco, Oliva-Coba, Gallardo-Velazquez, &Osorio-Revilla, 2009). The total phenolic contents of red pitaya flesh(42.4±0.04 mg GAE/100 g flesh FW) and peel (39.7±5.39 mg GAE/100 g peel FW), flavonoid contents of flesh and peel did not vary much(7.21±0.02 mg vs. 8.33±0.11 mg CE/100 g of flesh and peel matters);betacyanins were 10.3±0.22 and 13.8±0.85 mg betanin equivalentper 100 g of fresh flesh and peel; the antioxidant activity, measured bythe DPPH• method at EC50, was 22.4±0.29 and 118±4.12 μmol vita-min C equivalent/g of flesh and peel dried extract. The ABTS assayshowed 28.3±0.83 and 175±15.7 μM TE/g of flesh and peel driedextracts, respectively (Wu et al., 2005). The antiproliferative study onB16F10 melanoma cells revealed that the peel (EC50 25.0 μg of peelmatter) component was a stronger inhibitor of the growth of B16F10melanomacancer cells than theflesh. The results indicated that thefleshand peel were both rich in polyphenols and were good sources ofantioxidants. The red pitaya peel fulfilled its promise to inhibit thegrowth of melanoma cells (Wu et al., 2005). Several studies show theproximity value of red pitaya fruits but the nutrient composition of thestemhas not been extensively studied. Itwas found (Ruzainah, Rahman,Ridhwan, Che, &Nor ZainiVasudevan, 2009) that it consists of 0.270 g ofprotein; 0.552 g/L glucose and 132.95 mg/L ascorbic acid of dragon fruitstem and found higher than the fruit flesh of the dragon fruit. Thepremature stem (Wanitchang, Terdwongworakul, Wanitchang, &Noypitak, 2010) had higher values than the mature stem of the dragonfruit which may be helpful in preventing the risk factors of certaindiseases. The organic components in the stems of pitayawere identifiedby GC–MS and the contents of their mineral elements were determinedby ICP-MS. The results showed that it contained many kinds of mineralelements which played an important role in our health. It containedphytol, vitamin E, β-sitosterol, taraxasterol and other kinds ofphytosterols (Guo & Zhou, 2007). Valuable oil in the seeds of H. undatusand H. polyrhizus pitaya varieties was extracted by different methods(Ariffin et al., 2009; Rui, Zhang, Li, & Pan, 2009). Essential fatty acids areimportant acids that are necessary substrates in animalmetabolism andcannotbe synthesized in vivo: both pitaya varieties contain (Ariffinet al.,2009) about 50% essential fatty acids [C18:2 (48%) and C18:3 (1.5%)].The phytosterol compounds identified in oils were cholesterol,campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol. Seven phenolic acidcompounds were identified, namely, gallic, vanillic, syringic, proto-catechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric, and caffeic acids. This studyreveals that pitaya seed oil has a high level of functional lipids and canbeused as a new source of essential oil (Lim, Tan, Karim, Ariffin, & Bakar,2010). Red pitaya collected fromHepu in Guangxi province was used as

rawmaterial for wine production (Yan, Guo, Zhu, Yang, & Liang, 2008),as well as the optimal enzymatic treatment for clarification of whitepitaya juice using Pentinex Ultra SP-L for commercialization wasinvestigated (Aliaa, Mazlina, Taip, & Abdullah, 2010).

2.5. Durian

Durian (D. zibethinusMurray) is one of themost important seasonalfruits in tropical Asia. Durian cultivars are derived from D. zibethinus,originating in theMalayPeninsula (Voon,Hamid, Rusul, Osman,&Quek,2007). This fruit of several trees is widely known and revered inSoutheast Asia as the “kingof fruits”. The durian is distinctive for its largesize, unique odor, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit cangrow as large as 30 cm long and 15 cm in diameter and it typicallyweighs 1 to 3 kg. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the color of itshusk is green to brown, and its flesh pale is yellow to red, depending onthe species. The fruit is almost the size of a basketball, light green, andvery spiny, sweetwith a custard like texture andwith a strong odor. Theedible flesh emits a distinctive odor, strong and penetrating even whenthe husk is intact. The availability of durian is from themiddle ofMay tothe end of July. The importance of this fruit is mostly connected with itscomposition and antioxidant properties (Arancibia-Avila et al., 2008;Leontowicz et al., 2008; Toledo et al., 2008). It has been reported thatdurian has additional valuable health properties: polysaccharide gel,extracted from the fruit hulls, reacts on immune responses and isresponsible for cholesterol reduction (Chansiripornchai & Pongsamart,2008). The glycemic index of durian was the lowest in comparisonwithpapaya and pineapple. The health properties of durian are based notonly on the antioxidant properties, but also on its fatty acid composition.Cholesterol hypothesis implied that reducing the intake of saturated fatsand cholesterol while increasing that of polyunsaturated oils is effectivein lowering serum cholesterol, and thereby in reducing coronary heartdisease. The protective activity is linkedwith a high supply of n−3 fattyacids coming from fish and seafood, and high consumption of whole-grain products, as well as fruits and vegetables (Siondalski & Lysiak-Szydlowska, 2007). Durian is rich in n−3 fatty acids, compared to someother fruits (Phutdhawong, Kaewkong, & Buddhasukh, 2005). Volatilecomponents of ‘Jinzhen’durian inner-fruit andpeelwere studiedbyGC–MS. Results showed that esters were rich, especially in durian peelvolatiles, inwhichpropanoic acid, ethyl ester (47%) accounted fornearlyhalf. Sulfo-compounds in durian volatiles were di-ethyl disulfide (8%),ethyl-propyl disulfide (0.06%), di-ethyl trisulfide (2.2%) and 3-ethyl-2,4-dithiahexan-5-one (1%). It was suggested that smell and tastecomponents were different fruit flavors (substances), and severalinvestigations should be paid on the relationship between fruit olfactoryquality and human health (Zhang, Zheng, Feng, Yu, & Zhang, 2008). Thefruits of three varieties of Indonesian durian have been analyzed byGC–MS on sulfur-containing compounds. The S-ethyl thioacetate,methyl ethyl disulfide, 1-hydroxy-2-methylthioethane, methyl 2-methylthioacetate, dimethyl sulfone, diethyl disulfide, S-ethyl thio-butyrate, ethyl 2-(methylthio)acetate, 2-isopropyl-4-methylthiazole,S-isopropyl 3-(methylthio)-2-butenoate, benzothiazole, 3,4-dithia-2-ethylthiohexane, S-methyl thiooctanoate, 3,5-dimethyltetrathiane,3,5-dimethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane, S-methyl thiohexanoate, and 5-methyl-4-mercapto-2-hexanone were identified. The volatile metaboliteshave an important effect on human health. Zhang et al. (2008)reported only the future task that it was suggested that smell andtaste components were quite different fruit flavors (substances), andseveral investigations should be done on the relationship betweenfruit olfactory quality and human health. A strong correlation wasobserved between sensory properties with flavor compounds andphysicochemical characteristics of the fruit (Voon, Hamid, Rusul,et al., 2007; Voon, Hamid, Sheikh, et al., 2007). One of the threestrongest durian odorants was identified, and odor description, as3,5-dimethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane. Et 2-methylbutanoate were found tohave the highest odor impact among the non-sulfurous odorants in



durian (Weenen, Koolhaas, & Apriyantono, 1996). Thirty-eightvolatile compounds were identified in the fresh durian flesh, ofwhich eleven were esters, ten alcohols, six carboxylic acids, sixsulfurous and nitrogenous compounds, and five hydrocarbons.Processed durian fruit leather retained most of the aroma compo-nents of fresh durian fruit. During storage, the relative proportion ofacids in the product increased. Esters, alcohols and aldehydes duringstorage decreased, while hydrocarbons, phenolic, sulfurous andnitrogenous compounds fluctuated (Jaswir, Man, Selamat, Ahmad, &Sugisawa, 2008). Among exotic fruits durian is less known, and thedifferences between its cultivars are practically not studied (Ketsa &Daengkanit, 1999; Leontowicz et al., 2007; Mahattanatawee et al.,2006). The content of bioactive compounds and the influence ofcultivars in the experiments on laboratory animals and in investiga-tions of humans are significantly different (Gorinstein et al., 2000). Itwas reported that cultivars of the same fruit grown in the similarconditions differ significantly. Five durian cultivars (Mon Thong,Chani, Kan Yao, Pung Manee and Kradum) of the same stage ofripening grown in the similar conditions were compared in order tochoose the best as a supplement to human diets. Total polyphenols[mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g fresh weight (FW)] and flavonoids(mg catechin equivalent (CE)/100 g FW) in Mon Thong (361.49±23.2 and 93.99±7.4) were significantly higher (Pb0.05) than inKradum (271.59±11.2 and 69.29±5.3) and Kan Yao (283.29±16.5and 72.19±6.8). The free polyphenols and flavonoids showed lowerresults than the hydrolyzed ones. Anthocyanins (mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalent/100 g FW) and flavanols (mg CE/100 g FW)were significantly higher in Mon Thong (427.39±23.8 and 171.49±16.3) than in Kradum (320.29±12.1 and 128.69±9.7) and Kan Yao(335.39±14.1 and 134.49±11.7). UV spectroscopy and HPLC/diodearray detection (DAD) analyses showed that caffeic acid andquercetin were the dominant bioactive substances in Mon Thongcultivar. The antioxidant activity (mM trolox equivalent/100 g FW) ofMon Thong cultivar (260.89±20.2, 1075.69±81.4 and 2352.79±124.2) determined by ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP),cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and 2, 2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) with Trolox equivalent antiox-idant capacity (TEAC) assays was significantly higher (Pb0.05) thanin Kradum (197.49±8.9, 806.59±31.2 and 1773.29±102.5) and inKan Yao (204.79±9.7, 845.59±48.6 and 1843.69±107.5). Thecorrelation coefficients between polyphenols, flavonoids, flavanolsand FRAP, CUPRAC and TEAC capacities were between 0.89 and 0.98(Apak, Guclu, Ozyurek, & Karademir, 2004; Toledo et al., 2008). Inextracted and separated by electrophoresis durian proteins, somedifferences were found in the sodium dodecyl sulfate-protein bandsin the region of 16 and 68 kDa for Kradum, 45 kDa forMon Thong andthree bands for Kan Yao. The bioactivity of durian cultivars MonThong, Chani and Pung Manee was high and the total polyphenolswere the main contributors to the overall antioxidant capacity. As itwas reported the results in vitro are comparable with other fruitsthanwidely used in human diets. Durian can be used as a supplementfor nutritional and health purposes, especially Durian Mon Thong,Chani and Pung Manee (Toledo et al., 2008). The antioxidantproperties of durian at different stages of ripening showed thattotal polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins and flavanols in ripedurian were significantly higher (pb0.05) than in mature andoverripe fruits. Caffeic acid and quercetin were the dominantantioxidant substances in ripe durian. Methanol extracts containeda relatively high capacity of 74.9±7.1% inhibition by β-carotenelinoleic acid assay. Ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) andcupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays supportedthis finding. The correlation coefficients between polyphenols andantioxidant capacities of durian samples with all applied assays wereabout 0.98. A very good correlation was observed between theantioxidant capacities determined by FRAP and CUPRAC (Fig. 4A andB) and the total polyphenols (R2 is 0.972 and 0.891, respectively).

The correlation coefficients between the antioxidant capacitydetermined by FRAP and CUPRAC and for flavonoids (Fig. 4A and B)were lower than for total polyphenols (R2 is 0.865 and 0.711,respectively). The bioactivity of ripe durian was high and the totalpolyphenols were the main contributors to the overall antioxidantcapacity (Arancibia-Avila et al., 2008). The antiproliferation has to bementioned (Haruenkit et al., 2010) among the important activities ofdurian Mon Thong. The antiproliferative activities of methanolextracts of Mon Thong durian at different stages of ripening onhuman cancer cell lines (Calu-6 for human pulmonary carcinoma andSNU-601 for human gastric carcinoma) were determined by MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)assay. The antiproliferative activities of the methanol extracts ofimmature, mature, ripe and overripe durian samples on two cell lines(Calu-6 for human pulmonary carcinoma and SNU-601 for humangastric carcinoma) were reported (Fig. 5). The cell survival rate (%)for concentrations of 2000 μg/ml for mature durian was 86.8±1.5,and 88.5±2.5%, on Calu-6 and on SNU-601, respectively, showingthe highest antiproliferative activity in comparison with othersamples. This investigation (Haruenkit et al., 2010) reported thatantioxidant activity of the studied sampleswas not always correlatedwith their antiproliferative activity. The effectiveness of durian asdiet's supplement was investigated in vivo (Leontowicz et al., 2008).Five groups of rats were fed diets supplemented with cholesterol anddifferent durian cultivars. Diets supplemented with durian cv. MonThong and to a lesser degree with Chani and Kan Yao significantly

y = 0.6694x - 90.247R2 = 0.8652

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Fig. 4. Correlation between measures of antioxidant capacities (AC) and total phenolics(TPOL). A, (♦) ACFRAP (μMTE/100 g FW, X) and TPOL (mgGAE/100 g, Y1), (■) ACFRAP(μMTE/100 g, X) and TFLAV (mg CE/100 g FW, Y2). B, (⋄) ACCUPRAC (μMTE/100 g, X)and TPOL (mgGAE/100 g, Y1), (□) ACCUPRAC (μMTE/100 g, X) and TFLAV (mg CE/100 g, Y2). Abbreviations: FRAP, ferric-reducing/antioxidant power; CUPRAC, cupricreducing antioxidant capacity; TPOL, total polyphenols; TFLAV, total flavonoids.This figure is adapted from Arancibia-Avila et al. (2008).



hindered the rise in the plasma lipids due to cholesterol containingdiet: the TC to 8.7%, 16.1% and 10.3% and the LDL-C to 20.1%, 31.3%and 23.5% respectively. And also significantly hindered the decreasein plasma antioxidant activity in all diet groups (Pb0.05). Nitrogenretention remained significantly higher in Chol/Mon Thong than inother diet groups. Diet supplemented with Mon Thong affected thecomposition of plasma fibrinogen in rats and showed intensiveprotein bands around 47 kDa. No lesions were found in the examinedtissue of heart and brains. Mon Thong cv. is preferable for thesupplementation of the diet as positively influenced the lipid,antioxidant, protein and metabolic status. It was reported thatdurian fruit till now was not investigated extensively, thereforebased on the results of shown study (Leontowicz et al., 2007) duriancultivars can be used as a relatively new source of antioxidants.

2.6. Graviola

Graviola [(Annona muricata, guanábana (Spanish), graviola(Portuguese), Brazilian pawpaw, corossolier, guanavana, toge-banreisi,durian benggala, nangka blanda, and nangka londa)] has been one of thefirst fruit trees. It was imported from America in the tropical regions ofthe Old World and widely distributed from southeastern China toAustralia and the warm lowlands of eastern and western. Graviola ispopular in Cuba, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Colombia and northeasternBrazil (Lorenzi et al., 2006). Fruit is oval, sometimes having an irregularcurved shape, grows to 10–30 cm in length and up to 15 cm in width,and thus has a weight of 4.5–6.8 kg. The fruit is covered with mesh,tough looking, but soft to the touch andhas inedible bitter shellwith lotsof soft spikes. In immature fruit hull has adark green color, andwhen thefruit ripens, it becomes slightly yellow and is easily separated from theset inside the white fibrous juicy segments surrounding a soft spongy

core. The availability is the following: in Hawaii the early crop occursfrom January to April; midseason crop is from June to August, with peakin July; and there is a late crop in October or November. Graviolacontains carbohydrates, proteins, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, iron,vitamin C, large amounts of vitamins B1 and B2. The fruit – a white,creamy and stringy – has a unique tart taste and fresh aroma,reminiscent of the smell of pineapple and a good thirst quencher.A. muricata (soursop) and A. squamosa (sweetsop) are edible tropicalfruits which are common, readily available and cheap in the producingcountry. The moisture content of fruits was N70%. The approximatenutritional compositionsof unripe soursop and sweetsopwere (%): totalcarbohydrates 84.8, 86.5; proteins 7.34, 7.09; lipids 1.68, 0.99; ash 4.02,2.28; fiber 4.33, 10.81, respectively. Contents (g/L) in ripe soursop andsweetsop juices were as follows: carbohydrates 12.52, 10.56; glucose6.14, 4.32; proteins 2.91, 0.22; lipids 3.25, 1.05; fiber 0.0; citrate 8.82,3.53, respectively. The pH of fruit juices was acidic and the epicarp,mesocarp and juice of both fruits contained potassium, sodium, iron,magnesium, calcium, chloride and bicarbonate. The juices also con-tained phosphorus, zinc and copper (Enweani, Obroku, Enahoro, &Omoifo, 2004). The plant produces awide range of secondary chemicals,some already known to be toxic, but the discovery here of the iminosugars as a new group of chemicals, including the neurotoxinswainsonine, raises questions about the safety of consumption of thisplant (Mohanty et al., 2008). Amethylene chloride extract of the pulp ofA. muricata L. was fractionated and Annonaceous acetogenins (type E)have been isolated. Previously known C-35 and C-37 mono-epoxyunsaturated compounds, epomuricenins-A and -B (8+9) and epomu-senins-A and B (10+11), were obtained (Fig. 6). Two newmono-epoxysaturated C-35 representatives, epomurinins-A and -B (12+13) werealso isolated (Melot, Fall, Gleye,&Champy, 2009). The essential oil of theexotic fresh fruit (pulp) A. muricata (Annonaceae) from Cameroon was

Fig. 5. Cytotoxic effect of methanol extracts from durian samples on human cancer cell lines Calu-6 (for human pulmonary carcinoma) and SNU-601 (for human gastric carcinoma):(A) DI, durian immature; (B) DM, durian mature; (C) DR, durian ripe; (D) ORD, overripe durian.This figure is adapted from Haruenkit et al. (2010).



investigated by GC/FID and GC/MS. Esters of aliphatic acids wereespecially dominating (total amount 51%), with 2-hexenoic acid Meester (23.9%), 2-hexenoic acid Et ester (8.6%), 2-octenoic acid Me ester(5.4%), and 2-butenoic acid Me ester (2.4%) as main compounds.Additionally, mono- and sesquiterpenes such as β-caryophyllene(12.7%), 1,8-cineole (9.9%), linalool (7.8%), α-terpineol (2.8%), linalylpropionate (2.2%), and calarene (2.2%) were highly concentrated in theessential oil of the fresh fruit of A. muricata (Jirovetz, Buchbauer, &Ngassoum, 1998). GC/MS analysis of the leaf, peel and fruit pulp oils ofA. muricata L. showed the presence of 68 compounds of which 59 wereidentified. The main components of the leaf oil were β-caryophyllene(31.4%) and other sesquiterpenes, while the fruit oil containedessentially aliphatic acids and esters, in particular, methyl(E)-2-hexenoate — 39.8% (Pelissier et al., 1994). The plant is traditionallyused for the treatment of epilepsy, dysentery, cardiac problems,worm infestation, constipation, hemorrhage, antibacterial infection,dysuria, fever, and ulcer. It also has antifertility, antitumor and abort-ifacient properties. Ethanolic extracts of leaves and stem are reported tohave an anticancerous activity. A. squamosa has as well phyto-pharmacological properties (Saleem et al., 2009). Graviola has verybroad medicinal claims and is also widely consumed as a food and indrinks in the tropics. For therapeutic purposes graviola is used indiseases of the colon tomaintain intestinalflora. Juice of themature fruitis a good diuretic, promotes weight loss and is used to treat diseases ofthe liver, to normalize the acidity of the stomach, having anti-rheumaticand anti-inflammatory properties. Such juice is necessary for people

suffering from rheumatism, arthritis and gout. Graviola is commonlypromoted as a cancer treatment (Cassileth, 2008). Matrix metallopro-teinases (MMP) may exert important roles in both physiologic andpathologic extracellular matrix remodeling. They have been implicatedin tumoral progression of many human malignancies interfering onangiogenic, invasive, andmetastatic events. Specifically, the gelatinasesMMP-2 and MMP-9 have been intensively studied in connection withtumor invasion and metastasis, and have been considered as promisingtargets for cancer treatment. The inhibition of the MMP-2 and MMP-9gelatinolytic activity was investigated in Aloe vera, black tea, andA. muricata aqueous extracts (AE), diluted in activation buffer (AB, withcalcium). It was reported that the antitumoral effects verified for A. vera,A. muricata, and black tea AE may be partially explained by theirinhibitory activity on MMP (Ribeiro et al., 2010).

2.7. Guava

Guava (Psidium guajava L., also known as goiaba, goiabeira), locallyknown as Klom sali, is an important fruit, which originated in thetropics of America. Guava has a globular shape, with the texture crispywhen served raw; with sweet and sour taste, composed of 200 to300 g/fruit. The fruit is available all year around, as fresh, andprocessed as juice. Guava has a smooth surface, round or pear-shapedsmall size. Ripe fruit should be consumed with the skin to improvedigestion and to stimulate the heart. Daily consumption of guavanormalizes blood pressure, so is vital for the human body. When thefruit is ripe it becomes yellow and has a bitter-sweet taste. Dependingon the type of guava pulp may be white or pink color. The fruitconsists of water, contains proteins, fats, calcium, phosphorus, iron,fruit sugar, vitamin A, and fiber. Guava contains vitamin C to 5 timesmore than oranges (240 mg per 100 g). The sugar content of the fruitis combined with sweet, sour-sweet fruit, as well as dairy products.For the first time Lima, Fernandes, and Lima (2010) reported thatEdessa scabriventris Stal on Eugenia uniflora (Brazilian-cherry) and onP. guajava (guava) (Myrtaceae) fruit trees have an economic value.Guava has high antioxidant effect (Isabelle et al., 2010; Kongkachuichai,Charoensiri, & Sungpuag, 2010). The antioxidant capacity andphenol content of 3 tropical fruits pulps, namely, honey pineapple,banana and Thai seedless guava, were studied by Alothman et al.(2009). The polyphenol of Thai seedless guava was 123 to 191 mgGAE/100 g, that of pisang mas was 24.4 to 72.2 GAE/100 g, and that of honeypineapple was 34.7 to 54.7 GAE/100 g. High phenol content wassignificantly correlated with high antioxidant capacity. Three solventsystems were used (methanol, ethanol and acetone) at three differentconcentrations (50%, 70% and 90%) and with 100% distilled water. Theefficiency of the solvents used to extract phenols from the 3 fruitsvaried considerably (Alothman et al., 2009). Natural products haverecently become the focus of increased research interest due to theirpotential pharmacological activities. The acetone extracts of guava(P. guajava L.) branch (GBA) had cytotoxic effects on HT-29 cells.The GBA showed highly cytotoxic effects via the MTT reductionassay, LDH release assay, and colony formation assay. In particular, the250 μg/ml of GBA showed 35.5% inhibition against growth of HT-29cells (Lee & Park, 2010). The chemical constituents from the fruit ofP. guajava were reported. Nine triterpenoids, ursolic acid, 1β, 3β-dihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, 2α,3β-dihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oicacid, 3β,19α-dihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, 19α-hydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid-3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside, 3β,23-dihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, 3β,19α,23β-trihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid,2α,3β,19α,23β-tetrahydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, and 3α,19α,23,24-tetrahydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid were isolated by means of chroma-tography, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of MS, 1HNMR and 13C NMR spectra (Shu, Yu, & Wang, 2009). The chemicalcomposition ofmature fruits isolated from six different cultivars of guava(P. guajava L.) grown in Taiwan has been studied by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with GC–MS. A total of 35

Epomurinin B13

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Fig. 6. Several biological active acetogenins were isolated from Annona fruits (Annonamuricata L.).This figure is adapted from Melot et al. (2009).



compounds were identified, including 24 terpene hydrocarbons, 2terpene alcohols, and minor constituents including 1 alcohol, 2aldehydes, 3 esters, 1 terpene ester and 2 terpene oxides. Althoughthe volatile constituents of the six cultivars were similar, with β-caryophyllene (47.7–58.3%) and aromadendrene (7.1–14.6%) as themajor constituents in all cultivars, quantitative differences in thecomposition of some constituents were observed P. guajava L. cv. Chan-Shan Bar contained higher percentages of 3-hexenyl acetate, 1,8-cineole,and allo-ocimene than other species (Chen, Sheu, Lin, & Wu, 2008).Characterizationof the aromatic profile in commercial guava essenceandfresh fruit puree by GC–MS yielded a total of 51 components quantified.Commercial essencewas characterized to present a volatile profile rich incomponents with low molecular weight, especially alcohols, esters, andaldehydes, whereas in the fresh fruit puree terpenic hydrocarbons and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone were the most abundant components. Newcomponents were described as active aromatic constituents in pinkguava fruit (3-penten-2-ol and 2-butenyl acetate) as well as knowncompounds: 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2,3-butane-diol, 3-methylbutanoic acid, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, limonene, octanol, ethyl octanoate, 3-phenylpropanol, cinna-myl alcohol, andα-copaene (Jordán,Margaría, Shaw, &Goodner, 2003).The chemical composition of the volatile oil of guava fruits from treesgrown in Nigeria was investigated by GC–MS. A total of 25 compounds,accounting for 80% of the oil, were identified. Free fatty acids (mainlylauric andmyristic acids)were themost abundant group of constituents(34%). Large amounts of β-caryophyllene and O-containing sesquiter-penes (25%) also were typical for Nigerian guava (Ekundayo, Ajani,Seppanen-Laakso, & Laakso, 1991). A total of 88 volatileswere identifiedand detected. The data showed that hydrocarbons were moreprominent in the white fleshed guava and oxygenated compoundswere predominant in the pink fruit. Myrcene, cis- and trans-ocimeneand β-caryophyllene were the most important hydrocarbons in guavaaroma. The carbonyl compounds were the main polar group in pinkguava. The alcohols were themain polar group in white guava. Hexanalwas the major abundant constituent in both cultivars. C6-aldehydes,alcohols and esters were important aroma compounds in guava (Askar,El-Nemr, & Bassiouny, 1986).

2.8. Kiwano

The kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus) is a member of the Cucurbita-ceae and like the rest of its genus, is native to Africa (in particular,Nigeria). It became acclimatized in Australia several decades ago. Thefruits are ellipsoids, approximately 12 cm long by 8 cm in diameter,and of a green color which during ripening changed to orange. Thecortex is covered in conical protuberances, whose tips bear sharpprickles that can easily be removed when the fruit is ripe. Internally,the fruit is composed of a juicy green mucilaginous mass containingnumerous smooth white seeds. The horned melon (C. metuliferus),also called African horned cucumber or kiwano, is an annual vine inthe cucumber and melon family. The fruit of this plant is edible, but itis usedmore for decoration as for food. It has a yellow-orange skin anda lime green jelly-like flesh in the ripe stage. The availability is aboutthree and a half months in two seasons (early spring and autumn).The horned melon is native to Africa, and it is now grown in Australia,California, Chile, and New Zealand as well (Hutchman, 2006).Correlations among the indices of fruit ripeness Brix, Brix/totalacidity, soluble sugars/total acidity and color, were studied fordifferent fruits (whortlberry, raspberry, red and black currant,elderberry, sour cherry, babaco, feijoa, kiwano, persimmon andpassion fruit). The correlation between Brix/total acidity and solublesugars/total acidity was high for all the fruits studied (r=0.985),indicating therefore a linear equation, in order to find the fruit sugarcontent with known values of Brix and total acidity (Rodriguez,Oderiz, Hernandez, & Lozano, 1993). Weight, length, firmness,degrees Brix, color, pH, total acidity, vitamin C, moisture, proteins,

total fat, sucrose, D-glucose, D-fructose, neutral detergent fiber, quinicacid, malic acid, citric acid, ash, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, andphosphates were detected in kiwano fruit (C. metuliferus) samples.Citric acid was the main organic acid and K was the main mineralelement (Romero-Rodriguez, Vazquez-Oderiz, Lopez-Hernandez, &Simal-Lorano, 1992). Total polyphenol content and antioxidantactivities of non-edible parts (seed and peel) of eight tropical fruitswere analyzed and compared with those of their edible parts. Totalpolyphenol content in seed, peel and pulp ranged from 0.2 to 153, 5.0to 124, and 1.0 to 12 mg/g DW, respectively. Kiwano and papaya peelsshowed strong ferrous ion-chelating capacity, although they did nothave high polyphenol content and DPPH and ABTS radical scavengingactivities (Matsusaka & Kawabata, 2010). Lutein ester formation inkiwano was detected (Breithaupt, Wirt, & Bamedi, 2002). Kiwanofruits have high levels of water, vitamin C and minerals (K, Mg, and P)and low levels of glycerides. Flavonoids, which were detected,revealed high levels of rutin and small amounts of myricetin andquercetin. The presence of high levels of rutin with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, capillary protective, and blood plateletaggregation inhibitory activities may be pharmacologically important(Ferrara, 2006). Lactic, ascorbic, benzoic, salicylic, citric, tartaric,fumaric, glutaric, shikimic, oxalic, caffeic, hippuric, cinnamic, malic,and quinic organic acids were isolated (Fig. 7) from kiwano fruits(Pero, 2006).

2.9. Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit (A. deliciosa) is native to Southern China. Other species ofActinidia are also found in India and Japan and north into southeasternSiberia. Cultivation spread from China in the early 20th century, whenseeds were introduced to New Zealand. The kiwifruit is a large,woody, deciduous vine. Kiwifruit has an oval shape, typically the sizeof a large hen's egg, and a fibrous, dull brown-green skin, and brightgreen or golden fleshwith rows of tiny, black, edible seeds, soft textureand a unique flavor. Usually the availability is November–April. Thechemical constituents of volatile oil from caudexes of A. deliciosawereextracted by distillation with water vapor, and then were separatedand identified by GC–MS. Totally 19 compounds were identifiedaccounting for 97.37% of all quantity. The principal chemical con-stituents in volatile oil were tri-Bu phosphate, bis(2-methylpropyl)phthalate, 3,7-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-1,6-octadiene, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) phenol and trans-2-dimethyl-5-(1-methylethenyl)cyclohexanone (Ge et al., 2008). Volatiles of kiwifruit pulp werestripped with N2, trapped on activated charcoal, eluted with CS2, andseparated and identified by GC–MS. Major components were 2-hexenal,ethyl (Et) butanoate, andEt hexanoate. Compounds identified in kiwifruitwere Et 3-methylbutanoate, di-Et carbonate, Et 2-butenoate, 1,5-heptadiene-3,4-diol, 2,2-diethyl-1-pentanol, 7-methyl-1-octene, (E)-4-hexen-1-ol, 2-methylcyclopentanol, and Et octanoate (Cossa, Trova, &Gandolfo, 1988).

Glycosidically bound volatiles in kiwifruit have been isolated fromkiwifruit juice by absorption onto a column of Amberlite XAD-2followed bywashingwith pentane and elutionwithmethanol. Volatiles

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HO

HO

OH

COOH

OH

Quinic acid

Fig. 7. Organic acids from kiwano fruits.This figure is adapted from Pero (2006).



were released by enzymic hydrolysis with β-glucosidase. Major com-ponents found and identified by GC–MS were E-hex-2-enal andbenzaldehyde. Compoundsnot previously identified in kiwifruit includeoctan-3-ol, camphor, 4-methylbenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde,neral, geranial, Me 2-hydroxybenzoate, nerol, geraniol and 2-phenylethanol (Young & Peterson, 1995). Analyses of 8 flavan-3-ols(catechin, catechin gallate, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigalloca-techin, epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin, and gallocatechin gal-late), 6 anthocyanins (cyanidin, delphinidin, malvidin, pelargonidin,peonidin, and petunidin), 2 flavanones (hesperetin and naringenin), 2flavones (apigenin and luteolin), and 2 flavonols (myricetin andquercetin) were identified in more than 60 fresh fruits (Harnly et al.,2006). Flavonols of kiwifruits (Actinidia chinensis Planch.) cultivated inGeorgia were studied. Kaempferol-3-L-rhamnoside (afzelin), kaemp-ferol-3-D-glucoside (astragalin), quercetin-3-L-rhamnoside (querci-trin), quercetin-3-D-glucoside (isoquercitrin) and quercetin-3-D-gluco-L-rhamnoside (rutin) were isolated and identified (Kalandiya,Vanidze, Papunidze, Chkhikvishvili, & Shalashvili, 2001). Phenoliccompounds in kiwifruit pulp were separated and characterized.Strongly acidic compounds were identified as derivatives of coumaricand caffeic acids, including chlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, and aderivative of 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The weakly acidic fractioncontained epicatechin, catechin, and procyanidins (B3, B2, or B4 andoligomers). Flavonols were present as the glycosides of quercetin(glucoside, rhamnoside, and rutinoside) and kaempferol (rhamnosideand rutinoside). Phenolic compounds were present, at levels of b1–7 mg/L, in clarified juice (Dawes & Keene, 1999). Kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-galactoside, kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside,quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside, and quercetin-3-O-glucoside were isolatedfromkiwifruit andmombin plum(MP).Quercetin-3-O-rhamnosidewasas themajorflavonoid in kiwifruit (1.0–2.8 mg/kg) and rutin inMP(25–120 mg/kg) (Mareck, Galensa, & Herrmann, 1990). Kiwifruit is one ofthemost popular fruits in the USA and Europe. However, this fruit is notedible even at the maturation stage due to hard firmness and highacidity (Haruenkit et al., 2007; Park, 2002; Park, Jung, & Gorinstein,2006; Park, Jung, Kang, Deldado-Licon, Katrich, et al., 2006; Park, Jung,Kang,Drzewiecki, et al., 2006). Therearedifferentproposals toeliminatethe hard firmness and high acidity of the kiwifruit (Antunes &Sfakiotakis, 2002; Park, 2002), and the ethylene treatment seemspreferable. Ethylene treatment decreases the firmness and acidity, andincreases contents of fructose, glucose, sucrose and soluble solids andenhances the edible quality of kiwifruits. The best results could beachieved when the ripening process takes place at 20 °C (Park et al.,2009; Park, Jung, & Gorinstein, 2006; Antunes & Sfakiotakis, 2002). Inthe following investigations of these authors (Park, Jung, & Gorinstein,2006; Park et al., 2009) kiwifruit samples were randomly divided intotwo groups: treated and untreated. Flesh firmness, sensory value, visualscore, free sugars, soluble solids, ethylene biosynthesis, proteins, dietaryfibers, total polyphenols and antioxidant potential were determined inboth groups. Ethylene (100 ppm) at 20 °C for 24 h was used in thetreated group. The flesh firmness and acidity in treated samplesdecreased significantly in the early stage of ripening simultaneouslywith significant increase in the contents of free sugars, soluble solids,endogenous ethylene production, sensory value, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) content,ACC synthaseandACCoxidaseactivities,total polyphenols and related antioxidantpotential, andwas significantlyhigher than in untreated samples (Pb0.05). Proteins were extractedfrom kiwifruit and separated by modified sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The separation wasresolved into 14 protein bands. Some minor quality changes werereported only in the 32 kDa band, whichwasmore pronounced in thetreated samples. Ethylene treatment of kiwifruits was reported tohave positive changes in most of the studied kiwifruit bioactivecompounds and to an increase in the fruit antioxidant potential(Park, Jung, & Gorinstein, 2006; Park, Jung, et al., 2008). The contentof the polyphenols and ascorbic acid and the radical scavenging

capacity of ethylene-treated and non-treated fruits were reported byPark et al. (2009). It was reported that the contents of these bioactivecompounds determined by UV spectroscopy and fluorometry werehigher in ethylene-treated kiwifruit than in the non treated ones.Antioxidant capacity in total polyphenol extracts of treated kiwifruitmeasured by FRAP and TEAC assayswas significantly higher than thatof non-treated. Correlation coefficients between polyphenols andantioxidant activity were significantly higher than between antiox-idant activity and ascorbic acid. FRAP produced the most consistentmeasurements for ethylene-treated kiwifruit. The content of totalpolyphenols, and related total antioxidant capacities by Fe(III)-TPand ABTS significantly increased in ethylene-treated (Fig. 8B) than inthe air-treated (non-treated with ethylene) kiwifruit samples(Fig. 8A) after the first half of the treatment, starting from the 5thday (Fig. 8, Pb0.05). The Fe (III)-TP and ABTS values for each extractwere compared and correlated with the total phenolic contents. Therelationships between the values of total polyphenol concentrationsof non-treated samples vs. antioxidant capacities for Fe (III)-TP andABTS were 0.8845, 0.7229, respectively. For ethylene-treatedsamples, the calculations showed the following order between thepolyphenols and the antioxidant capacities determined by the twomethods: 0.9321 and 0.7423, respectively. The results are ratherinteresting, as there is an excellent linear response, especially for theethylene-treated samples only for Fe (III)-TP (R2=0.93). The overallestimation of the presented data showed that after ethylenetreatment, the correlation coefficients were higher than in the non-

NT

1

NT

2

NT

3

NT

4

NT

5

NT

6

NT

7

NT

8

NT

9

NT

10

05

10152025303540

Air-treated samples, durationABTS

Fe(III)-TP

A

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10

05

10

15

20

25

30

35

Ethylene-treated samples, durationABTS

Fe(III)-TP

B

RS

C, μ μ

MT

E/g

RS

C, μ μ

MT

E/g

Fig. 8. Changes in radical scavenging capacity (RSC) of total polyphenol extracts ofkiwifruit during10 days of ripening, using twoantioxidant tests duringdifferent periods oftime: A, RSC (μMTE/g) by ABTS and Fe(III)-TP in NT kiwifruits; B, RSC (μMTE/g) by ABTSand Fe(III)-TP in T kiwifruits; Abbreviations: NT, air-treated samples; T, ethylene treatedsamples; ABTS, 2, 2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid); Fe (III)-TP, ferric-tripiridyltriazine; RSC, radical scavenging capacity, expressed as mMTE (Trolox equiva-lent)/g DW.This figure is adapted from Park et al. (2009).



treated kiwifruits (Fig. 8). The ascorbic acid showed lower correla-tion of about 0.76 in comparison with 0.93 of polyphenols. Duringethylene treatment the bioactivity of kiwifruit is increasing andreaches its maximum at the 6th day and therefore it is the optimumtime for kiwifruit consumption; total polyphenols were the maincontributor to the overall antioxidant activity of kiwifruit; the mostsensitive test for antioxidant activities determination is FRAP. Theinvestigated samples showed similar protein bands during thewholeperiod of treatment. Main protein bands appeared in the range of 20–35 kDa. The radical scavenging capacity of the kiwifruit can be usedfor the determination of the ripening. As was mentioned, theethylene treatment of kiwifruits seems preferable (Antunes &Sfakiotakis, 2002). Latocha, Krupa, Wolosiak, Worobiej, and Wilczak(2010) compared different cultivars with kiwifruit (cv. ‘Hayward’).The comparison was based on the amount of bioactive compounds inorder to evaluate their compositional characteristics, especially as apossible “healthy fruit.” The highest concentrations of vitamin C andtotal phenolic content (TPC), were found for Actinidia kolomikta fruit(1008.3 and 634.1 mg/100 g fresh weight [FW], respectively).Among phenolic compounds, seven phenolic acids and three flavo-noids were identified. The 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid prevailed inA. kolomikta (425.54 mg/100 g FW), while tannic acid dominated inother species (4.63–100.43 mg/100 g FW). The largest amounts ofchlorophylls and carotenoids were identified as Actinidia macro-sperma (4.02 and 2.09 mg/100 g FW, respectively). The antioxidantactivity (AAC) of fruit extracts decreased in the order of A. kolomiktaNActinidia purpureaNActinidia melanandraNA. macrospermaNActinidiaargutaNA. deliciosa according to the DPPH assay. In very recent re-search (Park et al., 2011) four different cultivars of kiwifruit(‘Hayward’, ‘Daeheung’, ‘Haenam’ and ‘Bidan’) were compared inorder to find the best for human consumption. It was registeredsignificantly highest contents (Pb0.05) of polyphenols and ascorbicacids in ‘Bidan’ (25.85±1.3 mg GAE/g and 151.70±10.4 mg/g DW,respectively). The protocatechuic and vanillic acids were the highestin ‘Bidan’ cultivars. Also the level of antioxidant activity (μM TE/gDW) was significantly higher (Pb0.05) in ‘Bidan’ (120.82±5.8,109.28±11.2, 102.40±6.6 and 94.43±4.7 for CUPRAC, ABTS, DPPHand FRAP radical scavenging assays, respectively). Pattern recogni-tion techniques (cluster analysis, principal component analysis,factor analysis, and canonical discriminant analysis) were used forcomparison of the cultivars. High correlation was found between thepolyphenols (R2=0.988), ascorbic acid (R2=0.988) and the anti-oxidant activity in the studied cultivars. The overall bioactivity of thecultivars was as follow: ‘Bidan’N ‘Haenam’N ‘Daeheung’= ‘Hayward’.‘Bidan’, relatively new cultivar, can be recommended for consump-tion (Park et al., 2011).

2.10. Litchi

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is also known as Hong Hua, lychee,originated in the Kwantung province in southern China with a shapeof round or oval, up to 40 mm in diameter, with a single seed in themiddle of the fruit, occupies up to half of the fruit and composed ofapproximately 50 g/fruit. Red peel needs to be removed before eaten,and aril is edible part. The texture is juicy, translucent aril and thetaste is sweet and slightly sour. It can be used in processed form ascanned lychee in syrup. The availability of litchi is June and July.Sodium orthovanadate suspended in a lychee black tea decoctioneffectively regulates blood glucose levels in rats with insulin-dependent, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes (Edel et al.,2006). Volatile components of nine litchi cultivars (10 samples)with high compositional value from Southern Chinawere investigatedby means of GC–MS combined with headspace solid phase micro-extraction. A total of 96 volatiles were detected, of which 43 wereidentified. Seventeen common volatiles in all the samples includedlinalool, cis-rose oxide, α-terpineol, β-citronellol, geraniol, p-cymene,

ethanol, 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol, 3-methyl-2-but

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