Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity during ripening of Malpighia glabra fruits.

Malpighia glabra (Malpighiaceae) is a cherry
fruit popularly known as acerola or West Indian cherry,
with nutraceuticals in each ripening stage. The changes in
the phytoconstituents, pigments, sugars, organic acids, and
antioxidants were investigated during the fruit ripening and
expressed in fresh weight (FW). Gentisic acid was present in
the highest concentration in IMGL fruits (11.43 mg/100 g),
which was reduced to 0.362 mg/100 g over-ripening. The
major flavonoid present was epicatechin, and the concentration
increased from 2.11 mg/100 g in immature green
large (IMGL) fruits to 19.52 mg/100 g in ripe fruits. Ascorbic
acid was the most abundant organic acid present, and
the highest concentration was found in the IMGL fruits
(2030 mg/100 g). Fructose and galactose were found in the
highest concentrations in overripe fruits (2290 mg/100 g
and 1460 mg/100 g, respectively). The IMGL fruits
showed the highest total antioxidant activity of 5.48% and
5.34% ascorbic acid equivalent in methanolic and aqueous
extracts, respectively. Mineral quantification showed that
the fruits were rich in potassium and calcium (150.43 and
12.90 mg/100 g, respectively). This study could identify the
appropriate stage of acerola fruit for developing functional
foods with maximum utilization of phytoconstituents in all
stages.