Phenolic acids contribution to antioxidant activities and comparative assessment of phenolic content in mango pulp and peel

A high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method to analyse antioxidant activity as free-radical scavenging activity and metal-chelation in selected mango varieties was developed and validated. The contributions of common phenolic acids to antioxidant activity in pulp and peel samples was assessed. Polyphenolic content in pulp and peel was correlated with chlorogenic and gallic acid concentration (R > 0.90). Free radical scavenging activity in the peel was related to gallic and chlorogenic acids (R = 0.83), but wasn't dependent on caffeic acid concentration. Free radical scavenging activity in the pulp could not be predicted from the gallic or chlorogenic acid (R = 0.25 and 0.45) indicating that pulp contains other, more powerful free radical scavengers.