Antioxidant Capacity Alterations in Bangladeshi Underutilized Fruits: InsightsFrom In Vitro Gastrointestinal
Majbaul Alam1, Shreef Mahmood2, Nusrat Jahan1
1Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh, hstu.ac.bd.
Abstract:
The current research investigated effect of in vitro digestion on bioactive compounds and the antioxidant capacity of five underutilized fruits (Amla, Olive, Hog plum, Elephant Apple, and Bilimbi) grown in Bangladesh. In case of fresh extracts, maximum (523.31 mg/100 g fruit weight [FW]) and minimum (45.62 mg/100 g FW) ascorbic acid content was found in amla and olive, respectively. Moreover, the highest total phenol content was found in elephant apple (379.36 mg of GAE/100 FW), whereas the lowest total phenol was found in olive (346.28 mg of GAE/100 g FW). Regarding total flavonoid content (TFC) five fruits differed significantly for both fresh and digested extract. Amla exhibited the highest flavonoid content among the five fruits in both fresh (51 mg QE/100 g) and digested extracts (53 mg QE/100 g). Although TFC increased after in vitro digestion, a decreasing trend was observed in total flavanol content after digestion for all five fruits. The results also showed that DPPH radical scavenging activity significantly reduced after in vitro digestion. The highest DPPH activity was observed in Elephant apple before (92%) and after (46.67%) digestion. Although the ABTS assay (% inhibition) of all fruit extracts decreased, Elephant Apple still showed 89.75% inhibition. However, gastrointestinal in vitro digestions improved FRAP which was highest for Amla 14.68 mg BHT/mL. Therefore, the outcomes of the current study suggest that among the five fruits, Amla, and Elephant apple, which have high ascorbic acid, total flavonoid, and antioxidant capacity, could be considered for nutraceuticals and value-added products.
