Quantification of the levels of tannins and total phenols and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of fruits of pepper tree

• Autor(a) principal: Bernardes, Natália Ribeiro
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Glória, Lorena Lima, Nunes, Clara Reis, Pessanha, Fernanda Fraga, Muzitano, Michelle Frazão, Oliveira, Daniela Barros de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Vértices (Campos dos Goitacazes. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://editoraessentia.iff.edu.br/index.php/vertices/article/view/1809-2667.20110028
• topic: Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. Atividade antioxidante. Compostos fenólicos. DPPH.; Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. Phenolic compounds. Antioxidant activity. DPPH.

The fruits of pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) are widely used in the world cooking and its consumption has been encouraged since the late 80’s due to the presence of phenolic substances. Therefore, this study quantified the levels of tannins and total phenols in the fruits of pepper tree, aiming at establishing a possible correlation between these substances and their antioxidant activity. Phenolic compounds were extracted with acetone: water (7:3), and quantified by spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity was measured by DPPH method. The results showed low levels of condensed tannins and total phenols in the peel of the fruit, not being detected hydrolysable tannins in them. Nevertheless, the methanolic extract showed high antioxidant potential, which indicates the absence of a correlation between antioxidant activity and the levels of phenolic compounds in these fruits.