ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENTS IN PEEL AND PULP OF CHINESE JUJUBE (<i>ZIZIPHUS JUJUBA</i>MILL) FRUITS

ABSTRACT Total phenolic contents in peel and pulp of the fruits of three Chinese jujube cultivars (Ziziphus jujuba cv. mayazao, Z. jujuba cv. dongzao and Z. jujuba cv. yuanzao) were determined. The antioxidant activities in peel and pulp of the jujube fruits were measured by different methods, including 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). The total phenolic content in peel was five to six times higher than that in the pulp of all the three cultivars. The phenolics contents in the jujube were different with cultivars. The EC50 (Concentration of lyophilized samples needed to decrease the initial DPPH radical concentration by 50%), FRAP and TEAC values of the peel and pulp were remarkably correlated to their total phenolic contents (R = −0.922, R = 0.985 and R = 0.997, respectively). The results indicated that the high capacity of antioxidant of Chinese jujube fruit could be attributed to the high phenolic contents in the fruit. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS There was an expanding quest surrounding the use of antioxidant because they have the capacity to protect from the damage because of free radicals and reactive oxygen species. However, the safety of synthetic antioxidant was challenged. Much attention has been focused on the use of natural antioxidant. Interest in food phenolics had increased greatly because of their antioxidant and possible promoting-health role in human health. In this study, total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacities in vitro of Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill) peel and pulp were researched. The work would help to explore a natural antioxidant for possible application in food and dietary supplemental products for health promotion.