African baobab (Adansonia digitata) fruit as promising source of procyanidins

Abstract

Baobab is an endemic African plant rich in health-promoting compounds and still not extensively studied. Characterization of bioactive molecules in baobab fruit by means of LC system coupled with a photodiode array and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer detector is here reported. This work provides a qualitative and quantitative profile of polyphenols in baobab pulp, shell, kernel and seeds. Baobab pulp is a rich source of ascorbic acid, (−)-epicatechin and procyanidin B2 (135.6, 104.8, and 100.1 mg/100 g). Moreover, a HPLC preparative method to isolate procyanidin fraction from pulp was developed, revealing how the antioxidant activity of baobab pulp not only depend on the ascorbic acid content but also on the presence of procyanidins. The use of baobab fruit pulp as promising healthy food or food supplement is also discussed.