Identification of apples rich in health-promoting flavan-3-ols and phenolic acids by measuring the polyphenol profile

It has been reported that polyphenolic compounds from various plant foods produce physiological effects beneficial to health. Nevertheless, comprehensive evaluations of the polyphenol content and profile of different apple cultivars are scarce. This study examined 104 European apple cultivars for 12 polyphenols by UHPLC–MS, total polyphenol content (TPC) by Folin-Ciocalteu and antioxidative potential by Trolox® equivalent antioxidative capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The highest concentrations of individual polyphenols were found for epicatechin, procyanidin B2 and chlorogenic acid. Individual apple polyphenols ranged from below the limit of detection (LOD) to 70 mg/100 g FM, and varied strongly between the different cultivars. The TPC varied from 49 mg to 377 mg catechin equivalents (CE) per 100 g, and was much higher than the sum of the 12 individual polyphenols. TPC as well as the antioxidative potential correlated well with the sum of individual polyphenols as quantified by UHPLC–MS. Based on this polyphenol profiling, apples can be divided into flavan-3-ol predominant or phenolic acid predominant cultivars. Both classes of polyphenols are reported in the literature as having physiological effects beneficial to health.