Correlation between antioxidant concentrations and activities of Yuja (Citrus junos Sieb ex Tanaka) and other citrus fruit

Abstract

The antioxidant concentrations and activities of tangerines, yuja, lemons, and oranges in the Korean marketplace have been investigated. Flesh and peel tissues of the fruit were analyzed. The total vitamin C, total phenolics, flavonoid, hesperidin, and total antioxidant activity of all citrus types were higher in peel than flesh tissues. Total phenolic concentrations of flesh tissues were in the following order: lemon>yuja>tangerine>orange, while those concentrations in the peel were tangerine >yuja>orange>lemon. Lemon and yuja had higher hesperidin concentrations in flesh and peel tissues, respectively. Among the flesh samples, the total flavonoid and total phenolic concentrations were highly related with total antioxidant activity. The relationship between flavonoid and hesperidin was also strong among flesh and peel tissues. Our results indicate that citrus fruit includes high antioxidant compounds and activity and that citrus peel could be a good source of food ingredients.