Olga Maria Mascarenhas de Faria Oliveira

The antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid and phenolic content were studied in 10 exotic fruits from Brazil: abiu, acerola, wax jambu, cashew, mamey sapote, carambola or star fruit, Surinam cherry, longan, sapodilla and jaboticaba. The ascorbic acid was determined by 2,6-dichloroindophenol titrimetic methods and total phenols were measured colorimetrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The antioxidant activity was investigated with three different methods: hypochlorous acid scavenging activity, 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation decolorization assay, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method. The highest content of vitamin C (1,525.00 mg/100 g pulp) occurred in acerola. The total phenol content was higher in abiu, acerola, Surinam cherry and sapodilla. In relation to antioxidant activity, acerola has showed the great values in all three different methods tested. It was found that the fruits have a significant antioxidant effect when tested by each method, respectively, and these antioxidant capacities are promising. The sample concentration also influenced its antioxidant power.

Fruits is a scientific journal for original articles and reviews on fruit crops in temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical regions

Nicotine, an oxidizing agent, is certainly one of the most widely used alkaloids in the world.It is, together with its main metabolite, cotinine, responsible for tobacco-dependence. The use oftobacco is closely associated with lung disease, morphological leukocyte modification and generationof oxidant species. The aim of this study was to look for a possible relationship between cotinine,oxidant species generation and oxidative processes. After studying the action of cotinine in somechemical oxidation models and on the enzymatic kinetics of peroxidases (myeloperoxidase andhorseradish peroxidase), we concluded that cotinine does not act directly upon H2O2, HOCl, taurinechloramines, horseradish peroxidase or myeloperoxidase.