A comparative study of phenolic composition and antioxidant activity in commercial and experimental seedless table grapes cultivated in a Mediterranean climate

Abstract

Grapes are important sources of phenolic compounds, which have multiple beneficial effects on human health. Scientific advances in the field of genetics have allowed the production of seedless table grape varieties, which are highly demanded by consumers because of their nutritional value and their easy consumption. In this study, total phenolic content (TPC), radical scavenging activity (RSA) and total anthocyanin content (TAC), were determined in 65 seedless table grape varieties (41 experimental and 24 commercial varieties). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to an ion-trap mass spectrometry detector (UHPLC-IT-MS/MS) was used to identify and quantify some phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols, flavonols and stilbenes in 14 experimental varieties. TPC ranged from 17 to 250 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g fresh weight (FW), RSA ranged from 15 to 269 mg Trolox equivalents/100 g FW and TAC ranged from 0 to 168 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/100 g FW. The RSA assay showed high correlation (R2 = 0.90) between the TPC and the antioxidant activity of the 65 seedless table grapes analyzed. In the vast majority of the new experimental varieties analyzed, the TPC and TAC were similar to those of some common table grapes with seeds, indicating promising perspectives for their commercialization as potential sources of these bioactive compounds. In 6 grape varieties, high concentrations of catechin, procyanidin B2, epicatechin, quercetin 3-β-D-glucoside, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, caftaric acid and rutin were found, which would indicate that the regular intake of these varieties would be highly recommended.