Activite antioxydante des composes phenoliques accumules au cours de la maturation du fruit de Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam)

Mpika Joseph, Etou Ossibi G. J., Etou Ossibi Arnaud Wilfrid, Attibayeba

Antioxidants, phenolic compounds, Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam), fruit, ripening

The safoutier (Dacryodes edulis) is a fruit tree that produces edible fruits called safu in Republic of Congo. The evaluation of phenolic compounds contents and antioxidant activity of fruit epicarp, mesocarp and seed during its maturation was made from spectrophotometer assays. The results obtained revealed increase of flavonoids and polyphenols contents, and decrease of tannins in three fruit compartments. These phenolic compounds accumulate more in fruit seed than epicarp and mesocarp. At taste maturity, the epicarp with 1.828 mg EQ/MS is richer in flavonoids than fruit mesocarp and seed with 1.456 mg EQ/MS and 1.574 mg EQ/MS. Similarly, polyphenols and tannins accumulate much more in fruit seed than epicarp and mesocarp with respectively 0.511, 0.253 and 0.248 mg EAG/mg MS for total polyphenols, and 0.222, 0.207 and 0.185 mg EAG/mg MS for tannins. The evaluation of antioxidant activity was carried out using the free radical scavenging method DPPH and that FRAP. It appears that this activity also increases during the fruit ripening and that fruit epicarp and seed showed good antioxidant activity greater than 50% at 4.8 μg/ml and 3.37 μg /ml at taste maturity. This fruit could therefore be considered as a source of natural antioxidants for medicinal purposes.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.9.09.03