Antioxidant activities and phenolic compounds of date plum persimmon ( Diospyros lotus L.) fruits.

In the present study, phenolic compounds are extracted from the date plum persimmon fruits using water, methanol and acetone as solvents. Antioxidant activities of the phenolic extracts are measured using four different tests, namely, DPPH, hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, chelating and reducing power assays. All the extracts show dose dependent DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing and chelating powers and moreover, they are well correlated with the total phenolic and total flavonoid substances, suggesting direct contribution of phenolic compounds to these activities. In further, the extracts are identified and quantified by HPLC-ECD. Results show that gallic acid is the most abundant phenolic compound, with amounts ranging between 45.49and 287.47 μg/g dry sample. Myricetin is the dominant flavonoid in all extracts. Its level varied from 2.75 μg/g dry sample in acetone extract to 5.28 μg/g dry sample in water extract. On the basis of the results obtained, the date plum persimmon fruits phenolic extract is a potential source of natural antioxidants owing to its significant antioxidant activities.