Exotic Berry Skin and Pulp Found to Have High Antioxidants Levels

19 Oct 2015 --- The exotic Ceylon gooseberry fruit is an attractive purple berry that is produced in the southwest tropics of Brazil and is often used in jams and drinks and also sold as a fresh fruit. The authors of a recent study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), discovered that gooseberry skin and pulp contained higher antioxidant activity than other berries such as blueberries and cranberries.

Gooseberries contains high levels of phytochemicals, which have been reported in several studies to prevent oxidative stress that can cause cancer and heart disease. Gooseberry skin could potentially be a source of natural colorants and antioxidants for use in food manufacturing.

The researchers from the department of food science, food engineering school, Campinas State University in Brazil were the first to study the nutritional composition and antioxidant capacity of the gooseberry fruit.

The purpose of this study was to characterize anthocyanin and other major phenolic compounds in Ceylon gooseberry flesh and skin. Samples were monitored over two years in fruits that were harvested in autumn and in winter aiming to evaluate possible variations due to climate changes on anthocyanin content.

Anthocyanins – found to be the major phenolic compound in the fruit – were extracted and then studied and compared with regards to skin versus flesh content and total antioxidant content was shown to be greater in the skin than in the flesh and also varied according to season. The berry was shown to have higher antioxidant content than many other highly pigmented fruits.