Persimmon seeds contain considerable amounts of minerals, amino and organic acids, natural antioxidants and phenolic compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate quality characteristics and antioxidant potential of Korean persimmon seeds. The pH (4.88-4.94), color values, contents of minerals, free amino acids, organic acids, and phenolic compounds and DPPH free radical scavenging potentials of persimmon seed extracts significantly (p < 0.05) varied with the genotypes. This study showed that the seeds could be used as a source of different mineral elements (47.14-85.07 ㎎/㎏) without any measureable amount of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. Similarly, considerable amounts of organic (1550.13-2413.08 ㎎/㎏) and essential amino (50.85-54.03 ㎎/㎏) acids and total phenolic compounds (1227.91-1307.78 ㎍ gallic acid equivalent/g) were also found in the seed extracts, indicating their potential food value as a natural antioxidant. Results of the present study imply that prethanol-A, a food preservative, can be used as an effective extraction to obtain the minerals, organic and free amino acids, and phenolic compounds from the persimmon seeds, which possess a big potential to be commercially used in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
  Proximate composition analysis
  Chemicals and reagents
  Seed materials and preparation of extract
  pH and color measurement
  Determination of mineral content
  Organic acid composition
  Free amino acid composition
  Determination of total phenolic content
  DPPH radical-scavenging activity
  Statistical analysis
 Results
  Proximate composition
  pH and color values of persimmon seed extracts
  Determination of mineral content
  Determination of organic acids
  Determination of free amino acid
  DPPH radical scavenging activities and total phenolcontents
 Discussion
 References

• Il-Doo Kim(International Institute of Agricultural Research & Development, Kyungpook National University)
• Sanjeev Kumar Dhungana(School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University)
• Hye-Ryun Kim(School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University)
• Dong-Hyun Shin(School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University) Corresponding author