Antioxidant Activities from Two Varieties of Pear Peel Extracts using DPPH and CUPRAC Methods

Pear peels more often than not are considered nonbeneficial, therefore they generally end up discarded aside from being consumed along with the fruit. In this research, the antioxidant capacity of the peel of two most popular pears consumed in Indonesia, namely European Pear (EP) and Asian Pear (AP) is being identified and measured. For the results of DPPH antioxidant activity method, Asian pear peel extract dissolved in ethanol (IC 50 50.72) has the highest antioxidant contents than European pear peel extracted in methanol 80% (67.95). For the results of CUPRAC antioxidant activity method, European pear extract dissolved in methanol 80% showed higher antioxidant activity with the value of 2.51 and even the highest activity in an incubated condition with the value of 1.54. From the measurements, it can be understood that the peel extract of Asian pears has a higher antioxidant capacity when dissolved at a normal temperature. However, in an incubated temperature extraction environment, peel extract of European pears shows the highest antioxidant capacity, with the existence of slow-reacting antioxidants in the peel of European Pears, could be the potential cause. From this research, it can be concluded that pear peels are a source of beneficial antioxidants, and the method of extraction of antioxidants from pear peel would determine the extractable useful antioxidants: In the case of European Pear peel, an incubation temperature measurement is more desired.