Fruit of Autumn Olive: A Rich Source of Lycopene

Abstract

<jats:p>Autumn olive (<jats:italic>Elaeagnus umbellata</jats:italic> Thunb.) has edible fruit with brilliant red or yellow pigmentation. An analysis of the pigment in fruit of five cultivars and six naturalized plants showed that the berries contain lycopene, α-cryptoxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, lutein, phytoene, and phytofluene. The lycopene content per 100 g ranged from 15 to 54 mg in fresh fruit from the naturalized plants and from 17 to 48 mg in the four cultivars with red-pigmented fruit. A cultivar with yellow fruit had only 0.47 mg/100 g fresh fruit. In contrast, fresh tomato fruit, the major dietary source of lycopene, has a lycopene content per 100 g of ≈3 mg. This newly identified source of lycopene may provide an alternative to tomato as a dietary source of lycopene and related carotenoids.</jats:p>

Ecotypes diversity in autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellataThunb): A single plant with multiple micronutrient genes

“…The role of these minerals is well known in human nutrition and thus means that autumn olive can be of great value for human health. High lycopene contents were reported to be 6-16 times higher then tomato in autumn olive (17-48 mg/100 g) may have an additional value for its fruits [25]. The value of autumn olive fruit as a bird food has also been reported in various studies [28].…”

“…Both vitamin C and sugars were found to be higher in the fruits of autumn olive investigated, indicating a better potential for medicinal value and food materials. Sugars can increase the shelf-life and keeping quality of the fruit; hence, more sugars can help better marketing of the fruits [25]. The presence of larger amounts of sugar in autumn olive is also important for its direct use as a fruit or in the form of juice and other by-products.…”

Phenolic and tocopherol content of autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate) berries

“…AOB is rich in lycopene (Fordham et al, 2001), but little is known about its other potentially functional constituents, such as phenolics and tocopherols. Our work advances a critical understanding of AOB by providing the first quantitative characterization of AOB proanthocyanidins and tocopherols.…”

Plant genusElaeagnus: underutilized lycopene and linoleic acid reserve with permaculture potential

“…In the preserved fruit of E. angustifolia, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in the benzoic group and caffeic acid in the cinnamic group were the most abundant phenolic compounds (45.8 and 32 mg 100 g −1 dry weight, respectively). Fructose and glucose (32.62-34.60% and 23.37-24.10%, respectively) were found to be the major sugars in these fruit [7].The lycopene content of E. umbellata berries was quantified [8]. In fresh fruit, this carotenoid was multiple times higher (15−54 mg 100 g −1 ) than that of tomato (3 mg 100 g −1 ), known to be a lycopene storehouse.…”