Bioactive profile of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) cultivated in European and North Africa agrifood sectors

Introduction. Studies of the physico-chemical composition of the carob beans and the pulp of the pods originating from four countries are present.Materials and methods. The physicochemical properties of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) cultivated in different countries, Moldova, Algeria, Italia and Spain, were characterized in terms of mineral (Ca, Mg, and Fe), carotenoids (beta-carotene, lycopene, and zeaxanthin) and chlorophyll (a chlorophyll and b chlorophyll) content. The antioxidant activity of biologically active compounds was determined using simulated gastrointestinal digestion.Results and discussion. The samples of Moldovan carob compared to those grown in Algeria, Spain, and Italy contain higher amounts of biologically active compounds, some positions far exceeding those of carob from the mentioned regions. Thus, the mineral content in terms of Ca, Mg and Fe in Moldovan carob samples was 1.1-1.7 times higher. The same trends were recorded for the content of carotenoids in Moldovan carob beans: beta- carotene, 13.610 mg/100 g of dry matter (DM); lycopene, 19.882 mg/100 g DM, and zeaxanthin, 20.709 mg/100 g DM, which were much higher in comparison with samples from Algeria, Spain, and Italy. The differences concerning the amounts of biologically active compounds between Moldovan and other regions of carob beans were significant. Samples from Italy were distinguished by the highest content of chlorophyll and it was up to 1.1 mg/100g DM. The evolution of the antioxidant activity of biologically active compounds, which was done via gastrointestinal digestion, confirmed the functional profile of carob pods and beans. Thus, the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) antioxidant activity of bioactive compounds in carobs from different regions of the world, during gastric digestion simulation, increased from 38-48% to 60-74%.Conclusions. The studied four carob bean and pod samples originating from different world regions were similar by their bioactive potential. Nevertheless, it was found that Moldovan carob is the best in terms of the content of minerals, beta-carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin, and antioxidant activity.