Comparative Analysis of Phenolic Contents in Litchi and Pomelo Fruit Peel

Fruit processing industry produces large quantities of fruit peels as waste material which causes environmental pollution if not recycled carefully. There is a vast scope for using fruit peels in animal feed industry, as it contains antioxidants i.e. phenolics and flavonoids compounds that may be used for producing functional feed for animal in improving their health. The main aim of present investigation is analyze the phenolic and flavonoid profile of two fruit peels-litchi and pomelo. For this purpose, Shed dried peels were grounded and dissolved in 80% methanol (v/v) for extraction and were subsequently analysed by HPLC-DAD to estimate their antioxidant capacity. Results revealed that litchi peel contains significantly (P<0.05) high level of total phenolic content than pomelo peel. Detailed report was obtained from the phenolic and flavonoid finger printing. It was observed that syringic acid and kaempferol were the principal phenolic component in litchi peel, where as pomelo peel predominantly contains naringin, kaempferoland myricetin. The study clearly indicate that both litchi and pomelo peels contain various antioxidant molecules that could be strategically used in feed designed for better growth promotion, disease prevention and overall wellbeing of animals.