Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Passiflora spp. Germplasm Grown in Ecuador.

William Viera,Lenin Ron,Iván Samaniego,Alfonso Suárez-Tapia,Atsushi Sanada,Kaihei Koshio,Takashi Shinohara,Naoki Terada

doi:10.3390/plants11030328

Abstract

Tropical fruits are in high demand for their flavor and for their functional composition because these compounds are considered nutraceuticals. Passion fruit production is of economic importance to Ecuador; however, several Passiflora species are grown and each has to be analyzed to identify their phytochemical composition. In this study, the polyphenol, flavonoid, carotenoid, vitamin C, sugar and organic acid contents were determined. Six different Passiflora spp. germplasms were analyzed, coming from Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa, Passiflora alata, Passiflora edulis f. edulis and unidentified Passiflora species (local germplasm). Measurement techniques included reflectometry for vitamin C, spectrophotometry for antioxidant compounds and HPLC for sugars and organic acids. Data were analyzed by principal component analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. Results showed that INIAP 2009 and P10 showed a high amount of polyphenols, antioxidant activity and citric content. Sweet passion fruit had the lowest vitamin C content while Gulupa showed the highest content. In terms of the local germplasm, POR1 showed the lowest content of flavonoids while PICH1 had high flavonoid and carotenoid content. Polyphenols were the main compounds that influenced antioxidant activity. This phytochemical information adds value to passion fruit as a nutraceutical source.

Highlights

The species of the Passifloraceae family are grown in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide [1]
1 for flavonoids, μg β carotene g−1 for mg 100 pulp vitamin C, μmol TE g−1 for ABTS and FRAP,−g1 100 g−1 for sugar and organic acid content
The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analysis showed that the first two components explained 74% (Figure 2) of the variance observed in the data

Summary

Introduction

The species of the Passifloraceae family are grown in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide [1]. In South America, the main countries where passion fruit is grown are Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia [2]. This fruit is consumed fresh as juice (locally) because around 40% of the fruit is composed of pulp, or it is marketed (world-wide) as a concentrate and is desirable as a beverage component due to its nutritional characteristics, color, acid taste and exotic aroma [3,4,5]. There are several species of Passifloras grown in South América which are phenotypically different [6], mainly in terms of fruit size and peel color. Flavicarpa (yellow passion fruit) is the most cultivated species in Ecuador, Brazil and Peru; while P. edulis f. In Ecuador, yellow passion fruit is grown in the coastal lowlands (Manabí, Quevedo, Guayas) while purple passion fruit is cultivated in the highlands (Imbabura)

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