Preliminary characterisation of peach cultivars for their antioxidant capacity

Eleven peach cultivars (white- and yellow-flesh peaches, nectarines and canning clingstone peaches) were assayed for their antioxidant capacity and their content of some important organic compounds as well as vitamin C, carotenoids and phenols. Antioxidant capacity, determined by FRAP assay, varied between genotypes. Those with the highest value of Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) were Federica and Springcrest. Antioxidant capacity was correlated to the amount of organic components with significant differences among the cultivars. In some case, antioxidant capacity was related to phenol content, as in yellow-flesh peaches. These results suggest the importance of genotype for determining antioxidant capacity, which, in turn, is related to the organic constituents, such as phenols, vitamin C and carotenoids.