Fat‐Soluble Antioxidant Concentrations and Lipophilic Antioxidant Activities in Fruits, Vegetables and Legumes Harvested in Korea.

Abstract

There have been efforts to measure antioxidant activity in foods especially in fruits and vegetables (F & V). In this study, antioxidant activities of vegetables(n=67), fruits(n=21) and legumes(n=7) commonly consumed in Korea were determined by both Lipophilic Antioxidant Performance (LAP) and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity(ORAC) assays. In addition, the contents of carotenoids (all-trans-β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene, α-carotene, cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, all-trans-lycopene and cis-lycopene) and tocopherols were evaluated by a reverse phase HPLC system using a C30 column. Sample were lyophilized and lipophilic components were extracted with methanol and tetrahydrofuran for LAP, carotenoid and tocopherol analyses. Acetone was used to extract lipophilic components for ORAC. Results green vegetables mainly contained lutein, all-trans β-carotene, and 9-cis-β-carotene and these carotenoids were contributed to LAP values of vegetables. Red and orange vegetables, fruits and legumes were significant sources of α-carotene, cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lycopene. The carotenoid contents in Korean F & V greatly different from the values in the US and Japan database probably due to the different cultivar and cultivated conditions. Positive correlations were found between LAP and β-carotene, lutein+zeaxanthin, and total carotenoids (p<0.001). A positive correlation was also found between values of LAP and ORAC (p<0.001).