Coccoloba uvifera as a source of components with antioxidant activity

The flora of Latin America has attracted increased interest as it provides a plethora of still unexplored or underutilized fruits that can contribute to human well-being due to their nutritional value and content of bioactive compounds. Antioxidant compounds are now of considerable interest due to their effect of preventing or delaying aging and their apparent involvement in the prevention of numerous human diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, inflammation, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis. In the present study, the fruit of Coccoloba uvifera L. was investigated for in vitro antioxidant capacity using two assays based on reactions with a relatively stable single reagent radical (ABTS and DPPH), two assays based on chelating of metallic cations and one based on the reduction of oxidized species. The TEAC values for the ABTS radical, DPPH scavenging activity, ion chelation, and reducing power were found to be 897.6μM of Trolox/100g of sample, 22.8% of DPPH free radical scavenging, 11.3% of Cu2+-chelating activity, 23.9% of Fe2+-chelating activity, and a Fe2+-reducing power of 0.76mg/mL, respectively. The free radical scavenging and antioxidant characteristics of C. uvifera may be due to the presence of diverse phytochemicals in the fruit. This study shows the potential of using underutilized fruits to develop functional foods with high antioxidant activity.