Evaluation of the polyphenol composition and antioxidant activity of African variety of Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J Lam fruit

Polyphenols are abundant micronutrients in our diet that have been credited with chemoprevention of diseases associated with oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the whole ripened fruit of Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J Lam, a multipurpose tree growing in West and Central Africa and other countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea, for polyphenol content as well as its antioxidant/radical scavenging capacity. Analysis of the methanol extract of the fruit by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to an ultraviolet dual-array detector and mass-selective detector revealed the presence of catechol (9.27mg/kg), gallate (10.40mg/kg), methylgallate (0.88mg/kg), ellagic acid (3.10mg/kg), quercetin (0.21mg/kg), and quercetin rhamnoside (0.76mg/kg). The extract showed very high antioxidant potential (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50]=14 μL), but a rather weak radical scavenging activity (IC50=357 μL), when tested in vitro with the xanthine oxidase and 2-deoxyguanosine assay model systems, respectively. These results suggest that consumption of D. edulis could contribute to prevention of diseases that are related to oxidative stress. © 2009, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition.