EVALUACIÓN DE LA ACTIVIDAD ANTIOXIDANTE DEL NONI (Morinda citrifolia L.) EN TRES ESTADOS DE MADUREZ EN TINGO MARIA

Abstract

There is a lot of interest to find antioxidants from natural resources, especially fruits that grow well in the Peruvian Amazon such as noni (Morinda citrifolia L.). This fruit is being used by the nutraceutical industry because of its functional properties. However, its antioxidant capacity has not being fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the content of ascorbic acid, total polyphenols and antioxidant activity of noni juice under three maturity stages: unripe, ripe and over-ripe. Ascorbic acid and total polyphenols were determined by spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity was quantified using the DPPH, ABTSº+ and peroxyl methods. Result from the ripe noni had the highest content of ascorbic acid 253±1,9mgAA/100ml) and total polyphenols 23±6,8mg de catechin/100ml. DPPH results showed that the best treatment was ripe noni IC50 149,5±0,6ug/ml. However, unripe noni provided best results for ABTSº+ (IC50 145,5±0,6ug/ml) and peroxyl inhibition (IC50 106,1±2,0ug/ml). Collectively, our results demonstrated that a juice prepared with unripe and ripe noni could significant amounts of natural antioxidants and help alleviate oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.