Radical scavenging activity and phenolic compounds in persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. cv. Mopan)

The Mopan persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. cv. Mopan) is the major cultivar of astringent persimmon in northern China. This study investigates the radical scavenging activity against ABTS and DPPH radical, and the content of total and individual phenolics (catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and gallic acid) with apple, grape, and tomato as controls. The radical scavenging activities against ABTS and DPPH radicals of the Mopan persimmon are 23.575 and 22.597 microm trolox eq/g f.w., respectively. These findings suggest that the Mopan persimmon's antioxidant activity is significantly (P < 0.05) stronger than that of reference materials. The Mopan persimmon showed the highest content of total phenolics among the 4 materials tested. Significant correlations (R(2)= 0.993, P < 0.05, ABTS radical; R(2)= 0.980, P < 0.05, DPPH radical) are found between the total phenolics and the radical scavenging activities. The total content of these 6 kinds of phenolics (catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and gallic acid) is significantly correlated (R(2)= 0.831, P < 0.05, ABTS radical; R(2)= 0.745, P < 0.05, DPPH radical) with the individual radical scavenging activity of the 4 materials, although the total content of the 6 phenolics accounts for no more than 20% of the total phenolics in the Mopan persimmon. Gallic acid exhibits the strongest antioxidant activity in all 6 kinds of phenolics and its content is the largest in the Mopan persimmon, presumably being responsible for its much higher antioxidant activity as compared to apple, grape, and tomato.