Agriculture & Food, Volume 2, 2014

Abstract: Geuk (Momordica cochinchinensis spreng) tropical fruits, which are produced in Jeju Island, Korea, well known for containing high levels of carotenoids and α-tocopherol. In this study, geuk fruits were separated two parts (pulp; yellow-orange and seed aril; red). The extracts of geuk fruits were simultaneously analyzed for carotenoids and α-tocopherol contents using HPLC. The results showed that lycopene contained as the highest content in both seed aril and pulp and seed aril (846.84 μg/g) had lycopene two times more than pulp (390.15 μg/g). On the other hand, β-carotene of pulp (29.43 μg/g) was seven times more than seed aril (211.32 μg/g). α-Tocopherol was contained higher in seed aril (252.15 μg/g) than pulp (201.60 μg/g). The extracts and major components of geuk fruits (β-carotene, lycopene and α-tocopherol) were evaluated antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS assay. In both tested antioxidant assay, the seed aril extract showed stronger activity than the pulp extract. Lycopene, was more efficient than β-carotene, was active similar with α-tocopherol. Owing to the geuk fruits have powerful antioxidants, such as lycopene, β-carotene and α-tocopherol, which suggest that geuk fruits in the diet or in functional food products might provide greater health beneficial effects.