Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Activity Against Moko Disease As a Defense Mechanism of Spp. from the Ecuadorian Coast Area

The spp. represents the most commonly produced, transitioned, and consumed fruit around the globe, with several important applications in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Moko disease is produced by -a factor with a high impact on all crops in Ecuador, representing one of the biggest phytosanitary problems. Four of the most common varieties of spp. were tested to identify the metabolic reaction of plants facing Moko disease. The phenolic and flavonoid content has been evaluated as a defense system, and the α-diphenyl-α-picrylhydrazyl free-radical-scavenging method (DPPH), free-radical-scavenging activity (ABTS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) have been adapted to analyze the active compounds with the antioxidant capacity necessary to counteract the pathogenic attack. Our results indicate that all the studied varieties of spp. react in the same way, such that the diseased samples showed a higher accumulation of secondary metabolites with antioxidant capacity compared with the healthy ones, with high active compound synthesis identified during the appearance of Moko disease symptoms. More than 40 compounds and their derivatives (from kaempferol and quercetin glycosides) with protective roles demonstrate the implication of the spp. defense system against infection.