Author(s)

Yanet Chávez-Reyes, Lidia Dorantes-Alvarez, Daniel Arrieta-Baez, Obed Osorio-Esquivel, Alicia Ortiz-Moreno

Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México D.F., México.
Espectrometría de Masas y RMN Centro de Nanociencias y Micro y NanoTecnología, México D.F., México.
Instituto de Salud Pública, Universidad de Chalcatongo, Chalcatongo de Hidalgo, Oaxaca, México..

The objective of this research was investigated the effect of polyphenol oxidase microwave treatment on phenolic composition, antioxidant activity and microstructure of loquat fruit. Phenolic profile of methanolic extracts prepared from fresh, and microwave-treated samples were analyzed. Antioxidant activity was also evaluated by 2,2’-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS^?+) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH⁺) methods. In addition, polyphenol oxidase inactivation was carried out using a response surface methodology to establish the optimal conditions of treatment. The phenolic content of fresh mesocarp was 311 ± 0.60 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100g dry weight (DW) and that of microwave-treated mesocarp was 1230 ± 0.36 mg GAE/100g DW. Total phenolic content of water/ methanol extract significantly increases after microwave treatment rather than methanolic extract of fresh loquat. Five glycoside phenolics were identified by HPLC-DAD-MS as 3-caffeoylquinic acid, 3-p-coumaroylquinic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid and quercetin-3-O-sambubioside. Methanolic extract of microwave-treated mesocarp showed higher antioxidant activity than that of fresh mesocarp. Thus, polyphenol oxidase inactivation by microwave energy preserved the integrity of phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activity in mesocarp extracts prepared from loquat fruit. It was also noted that phenolics were more abundant in the microwaved samples than in the fresh samples.

Loquat; Phenolic Compounds; Polyphenol Oxidase; Microwave; Eriobotrya japonica

Y. Chávez-Reyes, L. Dorantes-Alvarez, D. Arrieta-Baez, O. Osorio-Esquivel and A. Ortiz-Moreno, "Polyphenol Oxidase Inactivation by Microwave Oven and Its Effect on Phenolic Profile of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) Fruit," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 9B, 2013, pp. 87-94. doi: 10.4236/fns.2013.49A2012.