Profiling of bioactive phytonutrients associated with antioxidant activity at various growth stages of mango

Antioxidant activity in fruits of five mango cultivars of northern India in relation to total polyphenols, total tocopherols, total carotenoids and total flavonoids at various stages of growth and development was characterized. Wide variation in antioxidant activity and its contributory phytonutrients was recorded in fruits of different cultivars at different growth periods. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) value ranged from 1.10 (Chausa) to 10.16 (Langra) mg AEAC/g fresh weight, while diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) value varied between 12.22 (Chausa) to 89.47% (Amrapali) during the growth period of five varieties. Immature fruits possessed higher antioxidant activity than mature fruits. Significantly higher amount of total carotenoids was recorded at ripe stage of all cultivars. Total polyphenols maintained higher correlation coefficient with both FRAP and DPPH throughout the study period. Significant and strong correlation between antioxidant activity with total flavonoids and total tocopherols was noticed at the time of maturity and ripening.