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PUMPKIN FLESH AND SEEDS, SOURCES OF MINERALS AND ANTIOXIDANTS
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mineral content, total antioxidant activity and total phenolics content of pumpkin flesh and seeds from two varieties of autochthonous pumpkins Garden pumpkin (GP) and Styrian pumpkin (SP) purchased from the agricultural marketplace. The investigated samples consisting of Garden pumpkin flesh (GPF), Garden pumpkin seeds (GPS), Styrian pumpkin flesh (SPF) and Styrian pumpkin seeds (SPS) were subjected to mentioned investigations, as follows: the mineral content was analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) using CUPRAC assay and total phenolics content (TPC) using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Additionally, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify the pumpkin varieties flesh and seeds fingerprint. The obtained results show that the pumpkin seeds have a very high content of minerals, almost 10 times higher than the pumpkin flesh. The pumpkin flesh is characterized by high content of polyphenols and total antioxidant activity. Both varieties show valuable minerals and polyphenols content, presenting appreciated antioxidant properties which recommend pumpkin to be introduced in different diets. The SP has been richest in minerals among the two varieties, presenting higher TAC, but lower TPC compared to the GP. Our results have proven that the TPC and mineral content of pumpkin flesh and seeds offer the fingerprint. TAC is a parameter which cannot be used for offering fingerprint patterns, but it might be used to appreciate the freshness of the pumpkin samples. PCA analysis is recommended to be used as an efficient tool for identifying the origin of obtained results (seeds or pulp, variety types and even locations).
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