Antioxidative and antimicrobial potential of residues of camu-camu juice production

Abstract

Total phenolic contents, antioxidant- and antimicrobial-activities of residual by-products of camu-camu fruit juice production were investigated in order to clarify the potential as functional resources for food industry. The seed and peel of camu-camu juice residue contain significantly more abundant phenols, than other tropical fruits do. The phenol content was higher in the seed extracts than in those of the peel. The radical scavenging activity, reducing power and antimicrobial activity were assayed to investigate its functional properties. The fractionated seed and peel extracts, which contained high total phenolic contents, showed potent antioxidant activity. Especially, those of 25 - 75% MeOH fractions of the seed exerted stronger antioxidant activity than ascorbic acid. Moreover, the extracts of the seed and peel showed antimicrobial activity to S. aureus, which revealed that the lipophilic constituents were responsible for antimicrobial activities. From these results, the seed and peel of camu-camu juice residue are shown to be promising multi-functional resources.