1Division of Post Harvest Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012, India.
2Division of Vegetable Science, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012, India.
Fourteen commercial cultivars of tomato were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. There was significant difference (p<0.05) in lycopene and phenolic contents between red and yellow cultivars. Red cultivars had higher lycopene content (2.735 to 6.552 mg 100g−1) than yellow cultivars (0.769 to 1.238 mg 100g−1). Mean total polyphenolic content and total antioxidant activity in red cultivars was also higher than those in yellow cultivars. Overall cherry tomatoes had highest phenolic content and appeared to be a promising cultivar in terms of their health promoting effects. The results highlight an existing unexploited variability in yellow tomato to improve their antioxidant properties.
tomato, lycopene, phenols, FRAP, ascorbic acid
