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Sugars, phenolics and antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities in Spanish lime (Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq.) fruit extracts

The fruits of the native South American tree Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq., also known as Spanish lime, are consumed both for their dietary and medicinal value. Limited information is available on the phytochemical content and biological activities of these fruits. In this study, fruit pulp and seed embryo extracts were assayed for phenolics, sugars, antimicrobial activity and free radical scavenging activity. Fruits collected from the Dominican Republic and Florida were analyzed for total phenolic content using the Folin‐Ciocalteau method and sugar content was assayed by gas chromatography. Reverse phase highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was also used to obtain a phenolic profile of the pulp and seed extracts. Results for total phenolic content indicated: embryo > pulp extracts and for sugar content: pulp > embryo extracts. Furthermore, antimicrobial activity assayed with the disc diffusion method, indicated all pulp extracts had antimicrobial activity and embryo extracts had minimal inhibitory activity. In addition, one batch of fruits from the Dominican Republic was separated into pulp, embryo and seed coat components and both the phenolic content and free radical scavenging activities(1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazil assay) were: seed coat>embryo> pulp. Sucrose, glucose and fructose were the major sugars detected in all pulp and embryo extracts. HPLC indicated several phenolic acid compounds may be present in the pulp extracts and several catechin compounds in the embryo extracts. Overall, the results of this study provide new information on the phytochemical content and potential health promoting properties of these fruits.