Effect of Storage Conditions on Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Activity of Litchi Pericarp
Mei Deng,
Yuanyuan Deng,
Lihong Dong,
Yongxuan Ma,
Lei Liu,
Fei Huang,
Zhencheng Wei,
Yan Zhang,
Mingwei Zhang,
Ruifen Zhang
Affiliations
Mei Deng
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Yuanyuan Deng
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Lihong Dong
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Yongxuan Ma
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Lei Liu
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Fei Huang
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Zhencheng Wei
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Yan Zhang
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Mingwei Zhang
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Ruifen Zhang
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Changes of phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of litchi pericarp during storage at 4 °C for seven days and at room temperature (RT) for 72 h were evaluated in this study. The contents of total phenolic and procyanidin decreased by 20.2% and 24.2% at 4 °C and by 37.8% and 47.8% at RT, respectively. Interestingly, the corresponding reductions of anthocyanins were 41.3% and 73%, respectively. Four phenolic compounds, including epicatechin, procyanidin A2, procyanidin B2, and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside-7-O-α-l-rhamnosidase were detected in litchi pericarp. Their contents after storage at 4 °C and at RT were decreased by 22.1–49.7% and 27.6–48.7%, respectively. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) of litchi pericarp decreased by 17.6% and 58.7% at 4 °C, and by 23.4% and 66.0% at RT, respectively. The results indicated that storage at 4 °C preserved more phenolics and retained higher antioxidant activity in litchi pericarp compared to storage at RT, suggesting that storage at 4 °C should be considered as a more effective method for slowing down the degradation of litchi pericarp phenolics.