Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. fruits

Abstract

Crab apple (Malus baccata (L.) Borkh.) was mainly distributed in Europe as an ornamental plant, but the nutritional properties of its edible fruits were not fully revealed. The aim of the current study was to characterize the phytochemical composition of ripen carb apple fruits and to evaluate their nutritional and antioxidant potentials. The fruits were assayed for moisture and ash content, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, titratable acidity (TA), pH, total phenolic compounds and natural pigments. Among the analyzed carbohydrates cellulose was found in the highest content (6% dw), followed by sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) and 1.8 % dw uronic acids. The total chlorophylls and carotenoids contents in their fruits were 6.51 and 4.80 μg/g fw, respectively. Total monomeric anthocyanins were not detected. The highest content of total phenolic compounds (2.67 mg GAE/g fw) was found in 95 % ethanol extract from fruits, while the total flavonoids were relatively low – 0.1 mg QE/g fw. DPPH assay (17.27 mM TE/g fw) and FRAP assay (14.34 mM TE/g fw) demonstrated in vitro antioxidant activities of crabapple. Malus baccata fruits were evaluated as a rich source of dietary fibers and phenolic compounds with significant antioxidant potential that could be used in human nutrition.

Phytochemical, nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of whitebeam (Sorbus aria) fruits

“…Michev et al (1983) reported that total lipid content expressed as ether extract was in the range 0.5-1.85% for other Sorbus aria fruit. The lipid content of whitebeam fruit was lower than that of Sea-buckthorn fruit -6.20-3.60% (Zenkova and Pinchykova, 2019), but higher in Malus baccata -0.55 ±0.05% dw (Petkova et al, 2020).…”

“…We did not detect any monomeric anthocyanidins in the fruit of S. aria (Table 2). The absence of monomeric anthocyanidins was found for the fruit of crab apple (Petkova et al, 2020).…”

“…Total carbohydrate was evaluated using the difference: Total carbohydrates, % = 100 -(moisture, % + ash, % + protein, % + lipids, %). The nutritional value of Sorbus aria fruit was calculated (Petkova et al, 2020).…”

“…Preparation of fruit extracts. The extraction procedure was performed in a solid to liquid ratio 1:5 (w/v) with acetone (for pigments), 95% ethanol (for phenolic compound and antioxidant activity) and distilled water (for sugar analysis) in an ultrasonic bath (VWR, Malaysia) with frequency 45 kHz and 30W power at 45ºC in triplicate (Petkova et al, 2020). HPLC-RID of sugars.…”

Evaluation of the Carbohydrate Composition of Crabapple Fruit Tissues Native to Northern Asia

“…There are only a few reports on carbohydrate composition in the fruit of the Siberian crabapple, M. baccata (L.) Borkh. [22,23]. In addition to being of fundamental interest, the knowledge of the characteristics of the carbohydrate composition of wild Malus species may be useful for their use as sources of genetic variability for apple breeding.…”