1 Identification and quantification of major derivatives of ellagic acid and 2 antioxidant properties of thinning and ripe Spanish pomegranates 3 4 Nallely Nuncio-Jáuregui1, Paulina Nowicka2, Sandra Munera-Picazo1, Francisca 5 Hernández3, Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina1, Aneta Wojdyło2,* 6 7 1 Departamento de Tecnología Agroalimentaria. Grupo Calidad y Seguridad 8 Alimentaria. Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche. Carretera de Beniel, km 3,2. 9 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain. 10 2 Department of Fruit and Vegetable Processing. Wrocław University of 11 Environmental and Life Science. 37/41 Chełmońskiego Street, 51-630 Wrocław, 12 Poland. 13 3 Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología. Grupo de Fruticultura y 14 Técnicas de Producción. Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche. Carretera de 15 Beniel, km 3,2. 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain. 16 17 18 19 *Corresponding author:
[email protected] 20 21 ABSTRACT 22 Major derivatives of ellagic acid and antioxidant properties of 9 Spanish 23 pomegranate cultivars were studied at two development stages: thinning and 24 ripening. A total of 35 major derivatives of ellagic acid were identified by LC-PDA- 25 QTOF/MS and quantified by UPLC-PDA methods; however, only 7 of them were 26 found simultaneously in thinning and ripe fruits. The total content of derivatives of 27 ellagic acid was higher in thinning fruits (3521 to 18236 mg 100 g-1 dry matter, dm) 28 than in ripe fruits (608 to 2905 mg 100 g-1 dm). The antioxidant properties were 29 evaluated using four methods: ABTS, DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC. Experimental values 30 for these four methods in thinning fruits ranged from 2837 to 4453, 2127 to 2920, 31 3131 to 4905, and 664 to 925 mmol trolox kg-1, respectively; ripe fruits had lower 32 values of the antioxidant activities than thinning fruits, and values ranged from 33 1567 to 2905, 928 to 1627, 582 to 1058, and 338 to 582 mmol trolox kg-1, 34 respectively.