Phytochemical Characterization of a Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) Breeding Population Grown in the Inter-Andean Valley of Ecuador

Tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) is an Andean fruit crop that is grown in Ecuador. It is an exceptional source of minerals and vitamins, thus has nutraceutical properties. The objective of this research was to carry out a phytochemical characterization of a breeding population composed of 90 segregants. Pulp (including mesocarp, mucilage, seeds and placenta) was ground and sieved in order to obtain the liquid pulp to be lyophilized for the chemical analyzes. Antioxidants compounds were determined by spectrophotometry and vitamin C by reflectometry. Data were analyzed by principal components, grouping, and variance analyses; in addition, Z Score estimation was carried out to select elite individuals. There was a broad variability in the data obtained for the breeding population, polyphenol content varied from 5.11 to 16.59 mg GAE g^-1, flavonoids from 1.24 to 6.70 mg cat g^-1, carotenoids from 50.39 to 460.72 µg β-carotene g^-1, anthocyanins from 1.06 to 240.49 mg cy-3-glu 100 g^-1, antioxidant capacity from 49.51 to 312.30 µm Trolox g^-1, and vitamin C from 78.29 to 420.16 mg 100 g^-1. It can be concluded that tree tomato is a good source of beneficial biocompounds and has a high antioxidant capacity.