Production and evaluation of jam produced from plum and African Star apple blends

The potential of some indigenous fruits such as yellow-plum (Spondias mombin) and African Star Apple (Chrysophyllum albidum) remained largely untapped. These fruits can be processed and preserved in small-scale operations using simple techniques that could replace both expensive fruits and the lengthy operation processes usually used for jam production. Blends were produced from African Star Apple and Plum in the following proportion: 100:0%; 90:10%; 80:20%; 70:30%; 60:40% and 50:50% respectively to produce six African Star Apple and plum blends. The chemical properties and consumer acceptability of jams made from these blends were investigated using standard methods. Chemical analyses of the jam showed that vitamin A ranged between 613.09 and 686.04 (IU), sample with the highest percentage of African Star Apple had the highest value of Vitamin A; vitamin C ranged between 30.51 and 46.12 (mg/100 g); pH ranged between 4.29 and 4.58; Brix ranged between 11.00 and 14.97°Bx. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in the sensory attributes of the samples. It was observed that Jam produced from African Star Apple and plum blend at 50:50% proportion had the highest Vitamin A and those at 90:10% proportion had the highest Vitamin C contents and all the samples were of high nutritional and health benefits.

Indian Indigenous Fruits as Radioprotective Agents: Past, Present and Future

: Ionising radiation has been an important modality in cancer treatment and its value is immense when surgical intervention is risky or might debilitate/adversely affect the patient. However, the beneficial effect of radiation modality is negated by the damage to the adjacent healthy tissue in the field of radiation. Under these situations, the use of radioprotective compounds that can selectively protect normal tissues against radiation injury is considered very useful. However, research spanning over half a century has shown that there are no ideal radioprotectors available. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) approved amifostine or WR-2721 (Walter Reed-2721) [chemically S-2-(3-aminopropyl-amino) ethyl phosphorothioic acid] is toxic at their optimal concentrations. This has necessitated the need for agents that are safe and easily acceptable to humans. Background: Dietary agents with beneficial effects like free radical scavenging, antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects are recognized as applicable and have been investigated for their radioprotective properties. Studies in these lines have shown that the fruits of Aegle marmelos (stone apple or bael), Emblica officinalis or Phyllanthus emblica(Indian gooseberry/amla), Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium jambolana (black plum / jamun), Mangifera indica (mango) and Grewia asiatica (phalsa or falsa) that are originally reported to be indigenous to India have been investigated for their usefulness as a radioprotective agent. Objective: The objective of this review is to summarize beneficial effects of the Indian indigenous fruits stone apple, mango, Indian gooseberry, black plum, and phalsa in mitigating radiation-induced side effects, emphasize the underlying mechanism of action for the beneficial effects and address aspects that merit detail investigations for these fruits to move towards clinical application in the near future. Methods: The authors data mined in Google Scholar, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for publications in the field from 1981 up to July 2020. The focus was on the radioprotection and the mechanism responsible for the beneficial effects, and accordingly, the articles were collated and analyzed. Results: This article emphasizes the usefulness of stone apple, mango, Indian gooseberry, black plum, and phalsa as radioprotective agents. From a mechanistic view, reports are suggestive that the beneficial effects are mediated by triggering free radical scavenging, antioxidant, anti-mutagenic and anti-inflammatory effects. Conclusion: For the first time, this review addresses the beneficial effects of mango, Indian gooseberry, black plum, stone apple and phalsa as radioprotective agents. The authors suggest that future studies should be directed at understanding the selective radioprotective effects with tumor-bearing laboratory animals to understand their usefulness as radioprotective drug/s during radiotherapy and as a food supplement to protect people getting exposed to low doses of radiation in occupational settings. Phase I clinical trial studies are also required to ascertain the optimal dose and the schedule to be followed with the standardized extract of these fruits. The most important aspect is that these fruits are a part of the diet, have been consumed since the beginning of mankind, are non-toxic, possess diverse medicinal properties, have easy acceptability all of which will help take research forward and be of benefit to patients, occupational workers, agribased sectors and pharma industries.

Advancing indigenous fruits consumption to promote self-management in ill-health: a critical narrative review

Most African communities consume various edible fruits, which are important to their well-being. Some of these edible fruits are indigenous and were well-known to the rural communities. These indigenous fruits can be collected from the wild or planted in home gardens and also as intercrops with staple crops. Some indigenous fruits, wild collection is still practiced, especially in parts of eastern, western and southern Africa. However, some fruits are still imported. A casual verbal survey indicated that many people in the general population do not know that actual differences in nutritional values between these fruits. Therefore, this study was a critical review of some fruits using the USDA database. Results show, for instance, that guava has over 250% vitamin C relative to orange. Avocado yields more calories than banana and this is very likely due to the fat/fibre ratio difference. Further, the imported cucumber and watermelon do not seem to have any advantage over the indigenous products. It concluded that the hidden potential of these indigenous fruits needs to be advanced and exploited to improve their consumption as they play a pivotal role in health economics of healthy dietary habit and self-management of ill-health.

Proximate Analyses and Amino Acid Composition of Selected Wild Indigenous Fruits of Southern Africa

A literature survey revealed that several wild indigenous Southern African fruits had previously not been evaluated for their proximate and amino acid composition, as well as the total energy value (caloric value). Fourteen species including Carissa macrocarpa, Carpobrotus edulis, Dovyalis caffra, Halleria lucida, Manilkara mochisia, Pappea capensis, Phoenix reclinata, and Syzygium guineense were analyzed in this study. The nutritional values for several species such as C. edulis, H. lucida, P. reclinata, and M. mochisia are being reported here for the first time. The following fruits had the highest proximate values: C. macrocarpa (ash at 20.42 mg/100 g), S. guineense (fat at 7.75 mg/100 g), P. reclinata (fiber at 29.89 mg/100 g), and H. lucida (protein at 6.98 mg/100 g and carbohydrates at 36.98 mg/100 g). Essential amino acids such as histidine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine were reported in all studied indigenous fruits. The high protein content in H. lucida was exhibited by the highest amino acid quantities for histidine. However, the fruits are a poor source of proteins since the content is lower than the recommended daily intake. The jacket-plum (Pappea capensis), on the other hand, meets and exceeds the required daily intake of lysine (0.0003 g/100 g or 13 mg/kg) recommended by the World Health Organization.

Domesticating and Commercialisation of Indigenous Fruit and Nut Tree Crops for Food Security and Income Generation in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Indigenous fruit and nut tree crops are very important to the human diet and subsequent food security and income generation in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Indigenous fruits and nuts are important for the nutritional contribution as sources of Vitamins and minerals. They also provide fibre which is essential for proper digestion of food. Fruits, particularly nuts provide man with unsaturated fats which are good for the heat and the cardio vascular system. Indigenous fruits and nuts are aesthetic as they provide interesting colour, texture and variety. Despite the immense benefits of indigenous fruits and nuts to the people of the Kingdom of Eswatini, there has not been enough effort put towards domesticating the indigenous fruit and nut trees and subsequent commercialising their products. The objective of this paper was to document strategies towards domestication and commercialisation of indigenous fruits and nuts for improved livelihoods of Emaswati citizens, which in turn will help achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) pertaining to human health and food security in the Kingdom of Eswatini. It can be concluded that domesticating indigenous fruit and nut trees can be achieved through a multi-stakeholder involvement. Domestication can also help in conservation of indigenous fruit and nut trees. Value addition on indigenous fruits and nuts can generate more income.

Enrichment of Mango Fruit Leathers with Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa) Improves Their Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Properties

Natal plum fruit (Carissa macrocarpa) is indigenous to South Africa and a rich source of cyanidin derivatives. Indigenous fruits play a major role in food diversification and sustaining food security in the Southern African region. Agro-processing of indigenous are practiced adopted by the rural African communities in order to reduce the postharvest wastage of fruit commodities. In the current study, Natal plum was added to mango pulp at different ratios (mango and Natal plum (5:1, 3:1, 2:1)) to develop a healthy-functional snack (fruit leather). The effects of added Natal plum on the availability of antioxidant constituents and in vitro antioxidant properties of a mango-based fruit leather were evaluated by comparing with mango fruit leather. Fruit leather containing mango and Natal plum (2:1) retained the highest content of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside chloride, cyanidin- 3-O-β-sambubioside, epicatechin, apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin, quercetin-3-O-rhamnosyl glucoside, catechin, quinic, and chlorogenic acids, and in vitro antioxidant activity. Proximate analysis showed that 100 g of fruit leather (2:1) contained 63.51 g carbohydrate, 40.85 g total sugar, 0.36 g fat, and 269.88 cal. Therefore, enrichment of mango fruit leather with Natal plum (2:1) increases its phytochemical content and dietary phytochemical intake, especially for school children and adolescents.