2003 Volume 54 Issue 6 Pages 449-456
Changes in the radical-scavenging activity and amount of active components (ascorbic acid and polyphenols) in astringent persimmon (shibugaki) during dry-ripening were investigated. The activity and active compounds in home-made wet-ripened (jukushi), commercial dry-ripened (hoshigaki), and commercial alcohol-treated (sawashigaki) persimmon samples were also examined. The activity of astringent persimmon during dry-ripening decreased with a reduction in the astringent taste, resulting in that the activity after 5 weeks of dry-ripening being about 1% of that of the original persimmon. The amounts of ascorbic acid and polyphenols after 5 weeks of dry-ripening respectively decreased to 0 and 5% of those in the original persimmon. The activity of the commercial dry-ripened and alcohol-treated persimmon was similar to that of the home-made dry-ripened persimmon prepared in this study. However, the activity of wet-ripened persimmon having no astringent taste was comparable to that of fresh astringent persimmon.
