Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Properties in Extracts of Developing Açaí ( Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Seeds

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 70; no. 51; pp. 16218 - 16228
• Main Authors: Martins, Gabriel R, Mattos, Mariana M G, Nascimento, Fabiane Marques, Brum, Felipe L, Mohana-Borges, Ronaldo, Figueiredo, Natália Guimarães, Neto, Domingos F M, Domont, Gilberto Barbosa, Nogueira, Fábio César Sousa, de Paiva Campos, Francisco de Assis, Sant'Ana da Silva, Ayla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 28.12.2022
• Subjects: Antioxidants - chemistry; Euterpe - chemistry; Phenols - analysis; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Seeds - chemistry; seed development; procyanidins biosynthesis; total polyphenols content; procyanidin composition; flavan-3-ols
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c07028

We investigated changes in the phenolic profile and antioxidant properties in the extracts of developing seeds of açaí ( ). Four developmental stages were evaluated, with earlier stages displaying higher antioxidant activity and polyphenols content, while mass spectrometry analysis identified procyanidins (PCs) as the major components of the extracts in all stages. B-type PCs varied from dimers to decamers, with A-type linkages in a smaller number. Extracted PCs decreased in average length from 20.5 to 10.1 along seed development. PC composition indicated that (-)-epicatechin corresponded to over 95% of extension units in all stages, while (+)-catechin presence as the starter unit increased from 42 to 78.8% during seed development. This variation was correlated to the abundance of key enzymes for PC biosynthesis during seed development. This study is the first to report PC content and composition variations during açaí seed development, which can contribute to studies on the plant's physiology and biotechnological applications.