EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND POLYPHENOLIC CONTENTS OF TWO SOUTH ALGERIAN EGGPLANTS CULTIVARS

<p class="Default">Polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in eggplants (<em>Solanum melongena </em>L<em>.</em>)<em> </em>seem to depend on cultivar, maturity stage, environmental conditions and the part of the fruit. In this work, the polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity of pulp, whole fruit and peel from fresh dark-purple and white eggplant varieties cultivated in Southern Algeria were measured. Total phenolic content were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu test, and antioxidant activity measured using cyclic voltammetry. Correlations between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were also examined. Within each cultivar, the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were highest in the peels, followed by the whole fruit and the pulp. In the peel, whole fruit and pulp the dark-purple eggplant had the highest total phenolic contents and the highest total antioxidant activities.