Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:355-363.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the phytochemical contents and antioxidant activity of 80%
methanol extracts of three selected fruits of Artocarpus species namely, Artocarpus odoratissimus (tarap), Artocarpus
kemando (pudu) and Artocarpus integer (cempedak). The total phenolic, total flavonoid and total carotenoid contents of
different parts of the fruits (peel, flesh and seed) were analyzed spectrophotometrically. The antioxidant properties were
assessed by DPPH, FRAP and ABTS method. The total phenolic content of all parts of the fruits ranging from 3.53 to 42.38
mg GAE/g of dry sample. The total flavonoid was in the range of 0.82 to 36.78 mg CE/g of dry sample whereas the total
carotenoid ranging from 0.67 to 3.30 mg ß-carotene/g of dry sample. The peel and seed displayed higher phytochemical
contents (as compared with the flesh) and were found to be efficient radical scavengers and reducing agents. Total
phenolic and total flavonoid contents were significantly correlated with the antioxidant activities. However, the total
carotenoid was weakly correlated with the antioxidant activities. Due to the findings of this research, it is observed that
the phytochemical compounds are the major contributor to the antioxidant activities. A. odoratissimus has the potential
to be used as antioxidant agents due to high phytochemical contents and high antioxidant activity for all tested methods