ANTIOXIDANT PROFILES OF CORBARA SMALL TOMATOES DURING RIPENING AND EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS EXTRACTS ON 5774 CELL ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES zyx MONICA CAPUTO’, zyxwvu MARIA GRAZIA SOMMELLA’, GIULIA GRAZIANI’, and LOREDANA MAlUNIELL01.3 ITALO GIORDANO~, VINCENZO FOGLIANO’, RAFFAELE PORTA’ zy ‘Department of Food Science University of Naples “Federico 11” Parco Gussone, zyxw 80055 Portici, Napoli, Italy 2ExperimentalInstitute for Industrial Cultures ISCI Battipaglia Received for Publication December zyxw 5, 2002 Accepted for Publication April 17, 2003 ABSTRACT m e influence zyxwv of ripening on the antioxidant profile of Corbara small tomatoes was studied inB it at five different ripening stages. An increase in the content of both carotenoids and flavonoids was observed during ripening. At the “deep red” stage (StW fruit had an average carotenoid content 58% higher than that of the “ripe zyxwv ’’ stage (StIII) which is the usual harvest time for markets. Carotenoid concentrations parallel the value of lipophilic antioxidant activity while the aqueous/methanol antioxidant activity was not correlated with total flavonoid content. The efsect of antioxidants extracted from stage zyx IV tomato was assayed on an oxiabtive-stressed culture of macrophages by measuring the activity of the antioxidant enzymes. An aqueous extract containing the pool of hydrophilic antioxidants was prepared. The antioxidant efsects of this pool were compared with the same efsect produced by a mixture of standard compounds constituted by the main tomato hydrophilicantioxidants. Results demonstrate that the efficacy of Corbarino aqueous extract on this cell system is higher than that of reconstituted mixture. Corresponding author: Loredana Mariniello, Department of Food Science, University of Naples “Federico JJ”, Parco Gussone, 80055, Portici, Napoli, Italy. TEL: +390817754867; FAX: +390817755116; EMAIL: 1oredana.marinielloQunina.it Journal of Food Biochemistry 28 (2004) 1-20. All Rights Reserved. @Copyright 2004 by Food & Nutrition Press, Inc., Trumbull, Connecticut. 1