Phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of Diospyros lotus L. fruits grown in Turkey

The present study aimed to analyze total ascorbic acid content (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), phenolic composition, fatty acid profiles, and antioxidant activity of Diospyros lotus L. fruits grown in Turkey. The TAC, TPC and TFC of D. lotus extracts were 13.9, 130.3, and 12.7 mg/100 g, respectively. Phenolic compounds, gallic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid, sinapic acid, naringin, rutin trihydrate, resveratrol, ellagic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, and quercetin were identified in persimmon samples. The 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) – ABTS and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of fruit extracts were found to be 556.3 µmol/g, 69.6%, and 52.4%, respectively. Fructose was identified as the major sugar (371.01 mg/g), while sucrose was not detected. A total of 17 different fatty acids were identified. Most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were palmitic acid (19.66%), palmitoleic acid (13.28%), and linoleic (18.04%) and gamma-linolenic (11.66%) acids, respectively.