Protein and amino acid compositions of ten tropical fruits by gas-liquid chromatography

Abstract

The edible portions of 10 different tropical fruits, namely, tucuma (Astrocaryum tucuma Mart.), avocado (Persea americana Mill.), mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota . E. Moore and Steam), longan (Euphoria longan Lour.), persimmon (Diospyros sonorae Standi.), mango (Mangifera indica L.), Cattley guava (Psidium littorale Raddi), sapodilla (Manilkara zapota L.), carambola (Auerrhoa carambola L.), and loquat (Eriobotrya japónica Lindl.), were analyzed for protein and amino acid composition. The crude protein contents of the fruits ranged from 0.4 to 2.7 g/100 g of fresh edible fruit pulp. Aspartic and glutamic acid were high in all fruits examined, and alanine, glycine, serine, hydroxyproline, and proline contents were relatively high in certain fruits. The amino acid compositions of these tropical fruits were compared with those of more traditional fruits (apple, orange, peach, apricot, and date). The tucuma palm fruit contained 5-10 times the amount of required amino acids in orange or apple.Accurate determination of the protein content and amino acid composition of food is important in nutritional research to provide a foundation for evaluating protein supplies and developing dietary recommendations. United Nation studies have pointed out that tropical and subtropical regions have the greatest need for programs to uncover indigenous sources of available protein. Considerable research has been conducted on nutrient composition of commercially grown tropical and subtropical fruits, particularly the many species of citrus and the common tropical fruits such as pineapple, banana, mango, and avocado. However, the research has generally not

Sapote mamey [Pouteria sapota (Jacquin) H.E. Moore & Stearn]: A potential fruit crop for subtropical regions of Michoacan, Mexico

“…Sapote mamey has two to three times this amount and thus might be considered important as a source of protein. The protein content in fruits of the genotypes we studied was comparable to that reported for the sapote mamey selections Rivera, Magaña and Zapote Valiente (1.75, 1.81 and 2.65 g 100 g -1 , respectively) (Cruz 1999;Hall et al 1980, Morton 1987, tucuma (Astrocaryum tucuma) (2.67 g 100 g -1 ) and datil (Phoenix dactilifera) (2.2 g 100 g -1 ); and higher than reported for avocado (Persea americana) (1.61 g 100 g -1 ), banana (Musa sapientum) (1.1%), cherry (Prunus cerasus) (1.2 g 100 g -1 ) and fig (Ficus carica) (1.2 g 100 g -1 ) (Hall et al 1980;Cruz 1999).…”

The effect of breed and dietary level of avocado fat on the N and energy balance in young pigs

“…Very few information, if any, is available about amino acid composition of avocado pulp (Hall et al, 1980;Ortega, 2003), and this aspect would merit more concern taking into consideration that feeding pigs with a relatively high proportion or avocado pulp would determine a necessity for balancing the ration from the point of view of essential amino acids. As illustration, Ortega (2003) reported values of 59, 40 and 29 mg of lysine, threonine and methionine per 100 g of avocado pulp.…”

Effect of L-isoleucine and L-phenylalanine Addition on Aroma Compound Formation During Longan Juice Fermentation by a Co-culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Williopsis saturnus

“…Longan juice without added amino acid (control) (), longan juice with added L-isoleucine (), longan juice with added L-phenylalanine (). Tropical fruits vary with either the content or the composition of their amino acid profile, since these fruits have generally been known as a low source of protein (Hall et al, 1980). This fact can lead the initial juices to be poor in aroma precursors for fruit winemaking.…”

“…: +65 6516 2687;Fax: +65 6775 7895] Many amino acids are flavour precursors, such as leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, valine, serine, threonine and aspartic acid, and most of these are naturally present in fruit juices. However, some kinds of tropical fruits are deficient in either amino acid composition or quantity (Hall et al, 1980). The metabolism of these amino acids by yeasts gives rise to a range of volatile and non-volatile flavour compounds during fermentation.…”