Comparison of Antioxidant Activities in Tomato Leaves and Stems

This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant activity in the leaves and stems of 50 tomato accessions, in order to examine the possibility of using tomato by-products as a functional material. The extracts of the leaves (LE) and stems (SE) were analyzed for DPPH, ABTS, and total polyphenol content (TPC). Antioxidant activities and TPC differed significantly between the LE and SE of the 50 tomato accessions. TPC in LE and SE showed wide variation, ranging from 24.4 to 60.6 and 12.5 to 18.8 ㎎ GAE/g, respectively. The DPPH and ABTS antioxidant activities of LE ranged from 10.0 to 38.2% (scavenging effect) and 20.8 to 59.0 ㎎ ASC/g, respectively, while the DPPH and ABTS measurements of SE were 1.4 to 8.8% and 2.2 to 22.5 ㎎ ASC/g, respectively. As assessed by the relative antioxidant capacity index (RACI), IT033117 and IT203466 had the highest antioxidant activity in LE and SE, respectively. These results will expand the knowledge of antioxidant activity and provide information on tomato accessions valuable for the development of functional foods and food additives.