Fruits and also vegetables are considered a good source of antioxidants, which are beneficial in protecting the human body against damage induced by free radicals and other reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species.
An antioxidant can be defined as any substance which significantly delays or prevents oxidation of oxidizable substrate when present at low concentration compared to that of an oxidizable substrate.
The natural antioxidants are a stable part of nutrition as they occur in almost all edible plant products. Polyphenols are the most numerous groups of antioxidant components, and they are present in fruits and vegetables.
Study shows that the highest polyphenol concentration was found in seeds and peels of grapes (9207 mg catechin/100 g d.w. in red grape seeds and 8220 in white grape seeds, and respectively 5129 and 3794 in their peels) (Acta Sci. Pol., Technol. Aliment. 6(3) 2007, 29-36).
The main pigments in fruits include carotenoids contributing red, yellow, and orange (for example, apricot and tomato); flavonoids contributing yellow (for example, citrus); anthocyanidins contributing red, purple, and blue (for example, grape and blueberry).
These pigments have powerful antioxidant activities and multiple health benefits, such as antitumor, antimicrobial, anti-inflammation properties. delaying aging, repairing the nervous system, and anti-atherogenicity.
Some flavonoids have high antioxidant activity than vitamin C, gluthione and β-carotene.
Carotenoids are also antioxidant that effective active oxygen scavengers with provitamin activity and can reduce oxidative stress in the human body. Almost all fruits contain carotenoids. Some typical fruits that are rich in carotenoids are including goji berries, tomato, and apricot.
Antioxidant in fruit
