BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF COMERCIAL TOMATO (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) CULTIVARS

There is a permanent concern in terms of increasing the nutritional and functional properties of food and their use to promote human health and prevent diseases. Given the high consumption of tomatoes, this species has become an ideal compounds source of health promotion. This study aims at analyzing biochemically 11 tomato genotypes grown in solar greenhouses. In this respect, there were determined the content of ascorbic acid, lycopene, beta-carotene, total phenols and the antioxidant activity. After the conducted analyzes, there were recorded significant differences between cultivars in terms of the biochemical compounds values. The ascorbic acid content ranged from 111.9 to 333.1 mg kg(-1) fw, the lycopene ranged from 21.1 to 47.2 mg kg(-1) fw, whereas the total phenolic compounds ranged from 282.5 to 574.7 mg kg(-1) fw. The antioxidant activity ranged from 0.84 mmol Trolox kg(-1) fw to 1.60 mmol Trolox kg(-1) fw. The Tiger cultivar with small fruits recorded the highest values in ascorbic acid, beta- carotene, lycopene and total polyphenols.