Comparative study of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant attributes of eighteen pomegranate (<em>Punica granatum</em> L.) cultivars grown in Morocco

International audienceThis study investigated the antioxidant capacity by the scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS). The total polyphenols (TP), total flavonoid (TF), total anthocyanins content (TAC), the qualitative and quantitative analyses of individual phenolic compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were also evaluated in pomegranate juices (PJ). Phenolic compounds identified in analyzed cultivars were gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, ellagic acids, catechin, epicatechin, phloridzin, quercetin and rutin. PJ showed significantly high TP and antioxidant capacities, but some differences existed among these cultivars. The correlation values (R2 = 0.9) between the flavonoids content and antioxidant capacity of the PJ, show that the flavonoids are among the microconstituents contributing to the antioxidant activity of pomegranate. The TP of the 18 cultivars varied from 1385 to 9476 mg GAE/L of juice. The highest TP levels were detected in the local cultuvars L1 and L3, and the lowest in the L5