Abstract

Nutritional and antioxidant properties of pulp and seeds of lleuque (Prumnopitys andina) and copihue (Lapageria rosea) were investigated. Proximal analysis revealed that the pulps are rich in carbohydrates, whereas the seeds are a good source of fibre. Both pulps exhibited higher phenolics content (PC) and flavonoids content (FC), as well as antioxidant capacities, compared to seeds. The data showed that PC correlated with antioxidant capacity the strongest, followed by FC and anthocyanins content. It was observed that global antioxidant score and relative antioxidant capacity index represented the antioxidant capacity behaviour of the extracts. According to the polyphenol antioxidant coefficients calculation, PC was an important contributor to antioxidant capacity of all extracts. The results of this study confirmed that the native Chilean fruits lleuque and copihue are an excellent source of antioxidants.