Nutrient and mineral assessment of edible wild fig and mulberry fruits

Abstract

Nutrient and mineral assessment of edible wild fig and mulberry fruits.Abstract -Introduction. Edible wild plants are nature's gift to mankind. Considering the growing need to identify alternative bio-nutritional sources, some underutilized species of figs (Ficus carica L., F. palmata Forssk., F. racemosa L.) and mulberries (Morus alba L., M. nigra L, M. laevigata Wall.) of the family Moraceae were evaluated as wild edible fruits to study their nutritive and mineral composition in order to prioritize their edibility for indigenous people. Materials and methods. The major proximal components (moisture, ash, lipids, proteins, fibers and carbohydrates) were determined by standard AOAC methods. The concentration of various minerals (K, Ca, Mg and Na) and trace elements (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Ni) Résumé -Introduction. Les plantes sauvages comestibles sont un don que fait la nature à l'humanité. Considérant le besoin croissant d'identifier de nouvelles sources de bio-nutrition, certaines espèces sous-utilisées de figuiers (Ficus carica L., F. palmata Forssk., F. racemosa L.) et de mûriers (Morus alba L., M. nigra L, M. laevigata Wall.) de la famille des Moraceae ont été évaluées en tant que fruits sauvages comestibles pour étudier leur composition nutritive et minérale afin de prioriser leur consommation auprès des populations autochtones. Matériel et méthodes. La composition globale des fruits étudiés (humidité, cendres, lipides, protéines, fibres et glucides) a été déterminée par utilisation de méthodes AOAC standards. La concentration en divers miné-raux (K, Ca, Mg et Na) et en oligo-éléments (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu et Ni) a été déterminée en utilisant un spectrophotomètre d'absorption atomique. Résultats. Nos résultats ont révélé une gamme de teneurs en humidité de 17,82-80,37 g⋅100 g -1 (poids frais) pour F. carica-M. laviegata ; en protéines, de 6,31-13,50 g⋅100 g -1 (poids sec) pour F. glomerata-M. alba ; en graisses brutes, de 1,02-2,71 g⋅100 g -1 pour F. palmate-F. glomerata ; en glucides, de 69,47-75,58 g⋅100 g -1 pour M. alba-M. nigra ; en fibres, de 7,63-17,81 g⋅100 g -1 pour M. laviegata-F. palmate, respectivement. Une valeur énergétique significativement élevée a été calculée pour M. laviegata (367,7 kcal⋅100 g -1 ). En outre, des quantités non négligeables d'éléments essentiels ont été trouvées chez toutes les espèces étudiées. Les plus hauts niveaux de N [(0,24 ± 0,07)

Nutraceuticals in Alternative and Underutilized Fruits as Functional Food Ingredients: Ancient Species for New Health Needs

“…Wild food plants have become very important for the food industry as they can be used to replace synthetic chemicals and nutraceuticals (Sadia et al, 2014); however, the nutritional, economic, and sociocultural potential of neglected and underutilized natural food resources have yet to be fully exploited and are suffering from a lack of research interest (Beccaro et al, 2015;Donno et al, 2014). For example, data on the antioxidant properties of several plant resources, in particular plants not used in nutrition and medicine, are still lacking.…”

Foodomics for mulberry fruit (Morus spp.): Analytical fingerprint as antioxidants' and health properties' determination tool

“…In recent years, wild food plants have become very attractive to the food industry, prompting their use as replacements for synthetic chemicals and nutraceuticals (Donno, Beccaro, Mellano, Cerutti, & Bounous, 2013b;Sadia et al, 2014), but neglected and underutilized natural food resources are suffering from less attention and research, and their nutritional, economic and socio-cultural potentials are not fully exploited (Beccaro et al, 2014;Donno, Beccaro, Mellano, Cerutti & Bounous, 2014b, 2014c: data on antioxidant properties of several plants, particularly those that are not used in nutrition and medicine, still lack (Sadia et al, 2014). Therefore, investigation of such properties has been of interest mainly for finding new sources for natural antioxidants, functional foods and nutraceuticals: several researches investigated the nutraceutical properties of Morus spp.…”

Ficus carica and Bone Health: A Systematic Review

“…Three studies were included in this review to evaluate the mineral contents of Ficus carica that is crucial for bone health (Khan et al 2011;Sadia et al 2014;Soni et al 2014). Khan et al (2011) was the earliest to conduct physicochemical profiling of Ficus carica (Sadia et al 2014).…”

“…Three studies were included in this review to evaluate the mineral contents of Ficus carica that is crucial for bone health (Khan et al 2011;Sadia et al 2014;Soni et al 2014). Khan et al (2011) was the earliest to conduct physicochemical profiling of Ficus carica (Sadia et al 2014). Their findings showed that their fig samples contain high amount of potassium (K) at 382.4-611.5 mg/100 g. This is followed by magnesium (Mg) at 110.50-202.40 mg/100 g, Calcium (Ca) 78.72-132.80 mg/100 g and phosphorous (P) at 31.91-76.96 mg/100 g (Khan et al 2011).…”

“…They suggested that the minerals found in Ficus carica fruit are essential for bone growth and maintenance. Sadia et al (2014) has led a study to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of a few species of underutilized figs and mulberries. It showed that the dried figs extract contains higher concentration of trace elements such as potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and Iron (Fe) [31].…”