Antioxidant Capacities, Phenolic Compounds, Carotenoids, and Vitamin C Contents of Nectarine, Peach, and Plum Cultivars from California

TLDR

The study assessed genotypic variation in antioxidant composition across 25 ripe cultivars of white‑ and yellow‑flesh nectarines, peaches, and plums. Ripe fruit exhibited wide ranges of vitamin C (3–14 mg/100 g), carotenoids (7–260 µg/100 g), and phenolics (14–111 mg/100 g), with phenolics contributing most to antioxidant activity and correlating strongly (r = 0.93–0.96) with it. Keywords: stone fruit, Prunus persica, Prunus salicina, Rosaceae, phenolics, ascorbic acid, β‑carotene, free radical scavenging activity.

Abstract

Genotypic variation in composition and antioxidant activity was evaluated using 25 cultivars, 5 each of white-flesh nectarines, yellow-flesh nectarines, white-flesh peaches, yellow-flesh peaches, and plums, at the ripe (ready-to-eat) stage. The ranges of total ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (in mg/100 g of fresh weight) were 5−14 (white-flesh nectarines), 6−8 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 6−9 (white-flesh peaches), 4−13 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 3−10 (plums). Total carotenoids concentrations (in μg/100 g of fresh weight) were 7−14 (white-flesh nectarines), 80−186 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 7−20 (white-flesh peaches), 71−210 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 70−260 (plums). Total phenolics (in mg/100 g of fresh weight) were 14−102 (white-flesh nectarines), 18−54 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 28−111 (white-flesh peaches), 21−61 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 42−109 (plums). The contributions of phenolic compounds to antioxidant activity were much greater than those of vitamin C and carotenoids. There was a strong correlation (0.93−0.96) between total phenolics and antioxidant activity of nectarines, peaches, and plums. Keywords: Stone fruit; Prunus persica; Prunus salicina; Rosaceae; phenolics; ascorbic acid; β-carotene; free radical scavenging activity