Profiling of lipophilic and phenolic phytochemicals of four cultivars from cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.)

Abstract

The lipophilic and phenolic extractives of the ripe mesocarp of four cherimoya cultivars ('Perry Vidal', 'Mateus I', 'Mateus III' and 'Funchal') from Madeira Island, were studied for the first time. The predominant lipophilic compounds are kaurene diterpenes (42.2-59.6%), fatty acids (18.0-35.6%) and sterols (9.6-23.7%). Kaur-16-en-19-oic acid is the major lipophilic component of all cultivars accounting between 554 and 1350 mg kg(-1) of dry material. The studied fruits also contain a high variety of flavan-3-ols, including galloylated and non-galloylated compounds. Five phenolic compounds were identified for the first time: catechin, (epi) catechin-(epi) gal locatechin, (epi) gallocatechin, (epi) afzelechin-(epi) catechin and procyanidin tetramer. 'Mateus I' and 'Mateus III' cultivars present the highest content of phenolic compounds (6299 and 9603 mg kg(-1) of dry weight, respectively). These results support the use of this fruit as a rich source of health-promoting components, with the capacity to prevent or delay the progress of oxidative-stress related disorders. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.