Five genotypes of Bene were collected from West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Ilam provinces, Iran. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined and antioxidant activity of the extracts were measured using different assays: FRAP, nitric oxide radical scavenging and DPPH. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the hull extracts were significantly higher than shell and kernel extracts. In hull extracts, positive correlation coefficient was observed between total phenolic content and FRAP (R(2) = 0.98) and DPPH (R(2) = 0.66) assays. The results showed that, the highest antioxidant activity of hull extract may be attributed to higher total phenolic content. Analyzing the phenolic composition using HPLC, sinapic acid, vanillic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were found in hull and shell extracts of all genotypes. Among all the genotypes studied here, B4 showed the highest phenolic content and antioxidant activity.
Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Bene; Fruit; Genotype; Phenolic composition.
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