Total folate: diversity within fruit varieties commonly consumed in India

Abstract

Folate concentrations in selected fruits were measured using the trienzyme extraction and microbiological assay with Lactobacillus casei (subsp. Rhamnosus) as an assay organism. Fruits were purchased from different retail outlets at Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India and were analyzed for total folate content. The folate content in all fruits varied considerably on a fresh weight basis from 10 to 328 microg/100 g, with tropical fruits ranging between 10 and 211 microg/100 g, temperate fruits from 11 to 328 microg/100 g, and the subtropical fruits in the range of 9-237 microg/100 g. Amongst all fruits, plum had the highest content of folate (328 microg/100 g). Data analyzed will assist dietary studies to estimate and evaluate the adequacy of folate intakes of the population, to formulate experimental diets for folate bioavailability studies, and to revise dietary recommendations for the population. In addition, the data will assist the health authorities in planning and executing strategies for intervention programs.

Folic acid content and fruit characteristics of five Indonesian dessert banana cultivars

“…The folic acid content of local dessert banana in this study is generally higher than unknown banana cultivar from Florida Folic Acid Coalition (2017) data (20 μg/100 g fresh weight) and also higher than apple fruit (5.5 μg/100 g fresh weight) (Mateljan 2018). As another comparison, total folate content from eight Indian banana varieties ranges between 10-188 μg/100 g fresh weight (Akilanathan et al 2010).…”

Durian Fruits Discovered as Superior Folate Sources

“…To highlight the folate content of durian, these findings can be compared with other fruits. In a recently published paper ( 14 ), we analyzed strawberries and found a total folate content between 59 and 153 μg/100 g. Moreover, Akilanathan et al ( 2 ) investigated diverse fruits commonly consumed in India and found total folates in a large range from 10 to 328 μg/100 g. They found tropical fruits such as Mango between 60 and 138 μg/100 g and bananas between 10 and 188 μg/100 g. Therefore, durian seems to belong to one of the fruits with the highest vitamin B 9 content.…”

“…In Southeast Asia an estimation of the durian contribution to the dietary supply of folates can be performed as follows. Current estimation for the consumption in the countries with highest durian intake per capita and year are 14, 13, and 10.25 kg in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, respectively ( 2 ). When assuming the edible aril constituting about 25% of the whole fruit ( 2 ), the mean consumption of Durian arils in Malaysia would be ~7 g per day.…”

Promising Tropical Fruits High in Folates

“…We analyzed five different varieties of mango and found total folate contents ranging between 55.8 ± 0.73 and 74.5 ± 2.09 µg/100 g. The predominant vitamer was 5-CH 3 -H 4 folate (88.3–90.9%), followed by low amounts of 5-CHO-H 4 folate (4.62–6.30%). Akilanathan et al [11] examined different varieties of mangos and found similar, partly higher folate contents of between 60.0 and 138 µg/100 g. The highest folate content was found in the smallest and unripe fruit. Our findings were similar to those of Akilanathan et al, with the highest folate content in the fruit with the smallest size and lower folate contents in fruits with bigger sizes.…”

“…Apart from the highly abundant phenolic compounds and the antioxidant properties of exotic fruit, their other bioactive compounds such as vitamins should be investigated. So far, some exotic fruits have already been analyzed with respect to their total folate content [9,10,11], but there is still a gap regarding folate data in indigenous food. With respect to the influence of different environmental factors, such as for example climate, geographical variations, and seasons [11,12] on the total folate content, it is fundamental to provide a broader data basis.…”