Wild grown red and yellow hawthorn fruits from Tunisia as source of antioxidants

Hawthorn fruits (Crataegus spp.), may be a good source of antioxidants if is consumed as fresh fruit since we know that it produce a numerous beneficial effects for human health. In this study, two species of hawthorn fruit, Crataegus monogyna and Crataegus azarolus were analyzed by HPLC–DAD–MS and compared with respect to their phytochemical composition. Phenolic profiles of studied fruits showed some similarities and differences in terms of polyphenols between the two species. Twenty phenolics compounds distributed into four subclasses were identified: four phenolic acids including three hydroxycinnamic acids and one hydroxybenzoic acid, eight flavonoids representing the most abundant subclass including six glucosylated flavonols and two flavones, two anthocyanins are present as glycosides of cyanidin, with cyanidin-3-O-glucoside is the most abundant, only in monogyna peel fraction and four flavanols divided into a monomer (−)-epicatechin identified in all fruit parts of both species, a dimer B2 and two trimers (C1 and C2). These phenolic compounds are concentrated especially in peel fraction. These results indicate that hawthorn fruits should be recommended in dietary habits as a potential source of antioxidant and anticarcinogenic phenolic compounds.