Assessment of Phytochemical Compounds and Antioxidant Potential of West Indian Avocado ( Persea americana ) Peel From Substandard‐Quality Fruits as a Valorisation Strategy

ABSTRACT

Food insecurity and climate change are closely linked to food loss and waste. Avocado ( Persea americana ) peel, a major by‐product of avocado processing, is a rich but underexploited source of phytochemicals with recognised antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and health‐promoting properties. Mexico, the world's leading avocado producer, discards nearly half of this fruit due to quality standards unrelated to nutritional or phytochemical value, representing a significant loss of bioactive resources with potential relevance to functional food and medicinal product development. The objective of this work was to evaluate the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of West Indian avocado peels discarded due to low‐commercial‐quality (overripe fruit) and to compare them with peel flour obtained from fruits at an optimal ripening stage. Peel flour (APF) was produced from both peel sources and characterised for proximate composition, dietary fibre, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, chlorophylls ( a , b and total), vitamin C and antioxidant capacity by DPPH and ABTS assays. Peel flour from substandard‐quality fruit contained 21.18 mg GAE/g APF of total phenolic compounds (TPC), 496.82 mg/kg APF of total chlorophyll and 1.92 mg β ‐carotene/kg APF. In contrast, optimally ripened peel flour exhibited lower phenolic content but higher chlorophylls, carotenoids and vitamin C, indicating maturity‐dependent compositional differences ( p  < 0.05). Phenolic compounds and carotenoids were identified as the main contributors to antioxidant activity in both peel sources. These findings demonstrate that West Indian avocado peel constitutes a valuable and currently underused source of phytochemicals with antioxidant activity regardless of ripening stage, supporting its potential incorporation into functional foods, nutraceuticals and medicinal formulations, while contributing to food loss reduction within a sustainable food system.