POLYPHENOLS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BANANA PEEL

Bruna B. V. Guandalini1*; Danielli A. R. O. da Silva

1; Ana Carolina P. Vital

1*; Camila P.

Croge2**; Paula T. Matumoto-Pintro

2.

1Food Engineering student, Universidade Estadual de

Maringá (UEM), Avenida Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil. 2Departamento de

Agronomia - UEM. *ITI/CNPq scholarships; **DTI/CNPq scholarships; E-mail: ptmpintro@uem.br

Banana is one of the most popular fruits in Brazil and in the world. About 2.5% to 3.0% of Brazilian production is destined for processing. The peel can represents 36% of the total weight of the fruit and does not present any industrial application. The banana peels have been used only for animal feed or composting, and it can has a considerable source of phenolic compounds. These compounds have antioxidant capacity that contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, working in neutralizing the action of free radicals in the body. The aim of this study was to quantify the polyphenols and to determine the antioxidant capacity of banana peel in order to use this product in the food industry. Banana peels were dried at 50°C until constant weight. The determination of total polyphenols was performed in a spectrophotometer at 725 nm, according to Folin-Ciocalteu with modifications, and expressed as gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The total polyphenols was 2.46 mgGAE/g of banana peel dried. The amount of flavonoids was 0.24 mgGAE/g of banana peel dried. The antioxidant capacity of banana peel was made by DPPH method based on the capture of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl). The capture of DPPH was observed during 100 min. consecutive and the result obtained was 83.36% of captured free radicals by the antioxidants present in banana peel. The total results of polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant produced by banana peel indicate that this can be used as a functional ingredient to enrich food products.