| dc.description.abstract | Despite having a wide variety of fruits and being one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots,
Sri Lanka’s resources are still mostly untapped. Secondary metabolites known as antioxidants
have the power to lessen oxidative stress that can lead to a number of diseases,
including cancer, inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and age-related diseases.
Underutilized fruits in Sri Lanka are reported to have antioxidant properties,
however, comparative studies are limited. The present study was carried out to investigate
the bioactivity compounds and antioxidant capacity of four heat pump- dried
underutilized fruit powders collected, including Cynometra cauliflora L. (Sin: Naminan),
Manilkara zapota L. ( Sin: Sapodilla), Flacourtia indica L. (Sin: Ugurassa), and Elaeocarpus
serratus L. (Sin: Veralu) were used in this study. Methanolic (100%) extracts (MEs) of
fruits were evaluated for Total Polyphenolic Content (TPC), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant
Power (FRAP), and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) (n = 3 each). Results
showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between extracts. Among the studied fruits,
F. indica exhibited the highest antioxidant activities for TPC, TFC, and ORAC. The
mean TPC, TFC, FRAP and ORAC antioxidant properties of MEs were 8.95 ± 0.25
mg Gallic acid equivalent/g, 8.75 ± 0.07 mg Quercetin equivalent/g, 51.39 ± 0.24 mg,
and 15.58 ± 3.34 mg Trolox equivalents/g heat pump dried fruit powder, respectively.
TPC and ORAC values are significantly (p < 0.05) different and have a moderate positive
correlation however, TPC and FRAP values have significantly different negative moderate
correlations. TFC and FRAP values have significantly different negative high correlation
but TFC and ORAC values have weak positive correlation. Monomeric anthocyanin was
not detected for four fruit types. The results revealed that these underutilized fruits can
be used to develop formulations with improved antioxidant capacity as sources of natural
antioxidants. | en_US |
