The Occurrence of a Natural Antioxidant in Citrus Fruit

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Antioxidant activity was found chiefly in the flavedo of citrus fruit. Of the fruits studied, orange had the highest activity and lime and lemon had almost no active principle. Very little, if any, of the activity was located in other component parts of citrus fruit except in the juice vesicles of Valencia oranges. A macro‐manometric apparatus was designed to measure the amount of oxygen absorbed by d‐limonene and the degree of inhibition of this oxidation when the active principle was added. Comparisons were made between the extracts of citrus fruit and known concentrations of commercial antioxidants. Chromatographic separation on alumina columns yielded a highly colored, oily fraction rich in antioxidant activity. Thin‐layer chromatography, a positive ferric chloride‐dipyridyl test, and the nonpolar, nonvolatile nature of the active material indicate that it is possibly a tocopherol.

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