Antioxidant Capacity and Phenolic Profile of Edible Carob Pods (Ceratonia siliqua L.)

Our study aimed, for the first time, to comparatively characterize edible carob powder from the Imera and Platses cultivars in terms of phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity, providing the first comprehensive characterization of the underexplored Platses cultivar using an integrated multi-analytical approach. FT-IR fingerprinting, GC-MS volatile profiling and LC-MS phenolic analysis were performed, while total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were evaluated using Folin–Ciocalteu, FRAP, DPPH, ABTS and TSO assays. FT-IR indicated higher absorption in regions related to α- and β-glucans in Platses, while GC-MS identified 22 volatile compounds, with isobutyric acid being the dominant volatile in both cultivars. LC-MS revealed distinct phenolic profiles, with Imera exhibiting higher relative abundances of flavonoids, galloylated and flavanol derivatives, whereas Platses showed higher relative abundances of gallic acid, ferulic acid and kaempferol. Imera also exhibited significantly higher total phenolic and flavanol contents and antioxidant capacity (FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS; p < 0.05), while TSO did not differ between cultivars. Strong positive correlations were observed between phenolic content and antioxidant activity. These findings support the exploitation of Cretan carob cultivars as natural sources of bioactive compounds for functional food and nutraceutical applications.