Variations in phenolic acids and antioxidant activity of navel orange at different growth stages

Ripe navel orange has abundant amounts of phenolic compounds. Few studies monitored changes in these compounds during ripening. In this study, the effects of navel orange maturation on dynamic changes in antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and phenolic acids were investigated. Five growth stages of navel orange were studied, and nine phenolic acids were detected via high performance liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC–QQQ–MS). Results showed that antioxidant activity, TFC and TPC decreased gradually with fruit ripening. The concentrations of most phenolic acids also declined during fruit maturation, except for free fractions of sinapic acid and bound fractions of ferulic and caffeic acids. Ferulic acid was the most dominant of all phenolic acids at all growth stages. Partial least-squares showed significant differences among fruits of different maturities. A significant correlation between antioxidant capacity, TPC, TFC and some phenolic acids was found.