Antioxidant content in guava (Psidium guajava) and araca´ (Psidium spp.) germplasm from different Brazilian regions

Guava (Psidium guajava) and arac¸a´ (Psidium spp.) plants are important for the Brazilian economy, as their fruit is both accepted by the consumers, and makes a beneficial contribution to the human diet thanks to their content in vitamin C, carotenoids and phenolic compounds. Here, we report the content in the fruit of free ascorbic acid, lycopene, b-carotene, flavonoids and phenolic compounds, and the total antioxidant activity present in a collection of guava and araca´ accessions curated at the Embrapa Semiarido germplasm bank. Guava fruits with a red-coloured pulp flesh contained a significant amount of carotenoids, especially lycopene, and a high concentration of phenolic compounds. These compounds were largely responsible for the antioxidant activity of the arac¸a´ accessions. Among the guava accessions, phenolic compounds were also responsible for the antioxidant activity. High levels of free ascorbic acid were present in most accessions. In both guava and araca´, there is substantial potential to develop cultivars with a good level of consumer acceptability.