Nutritional and Antioxidant Properties of Physalis peruviana L. Fruits from the Argentinean Northern Andean Region

Abstract

Physalis peruviana L. fruits have gained great interest in different producing countries because they are good source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, the nutritional characterization and bioactive properties of both cultivated and wild fruits of P. peruviana growing in Argentina have not been conducted so far. The results provided clear difference in physicochemical, nutritional and bioactive characteristics of cultivated and wild fruits of P. peruviana from Argentinean Northern Andean region. Cultivated fruits showed a higher content of K, Mg and Cu and bioactive compounds as vitamin C than wild fruits. Besides, cultivated fruits displayed a high antiradical activity towards ABTS ●+ and FRAP. In addition, both cultivated and wild fruits exhibited a great antioxidant activity measured as the free radical scavenging activity against DPPH ● (effective concentration that scavenged 50% of the radicals is 0.64 and 1.65 mg/mL, respectively). The findings point out that the nutritional properties and bioactive compounds (vitamin C and β-carotene) of cultivated and wild fruits were comparable to those from countries with a production tradition. Outstandingly, the antioxidant performance of fruits growing in Argentinean Northern Andean region is remarkable in comparison with those reported in other producing zones, which can be ascribed to suitable ecological conditions.