Physicochemical characteristics of the Lasiococca comberi Haines seeds

Dietary fibre content in ethnic and unconventional vegetables and fruits growing in Bangladesh

Dietary fibres are known to provide health benefit and protect against degenerative chronic diseases. Thus, the present study reports the total dietary fibre (TDF) content of sixty-nine selected ethnic and unconventional vegetables and fruits growing in Bangladesh. The samples were collected from different locations of Bangladesh and mixed together to ensure sample representativeness. Dietary fibre assay kit according to the AOAC method was utilized for the analysis of TDF in selected vegetables and fruits. In the ethnic varieties, the TDF content ranged from 1.02 ± 0.16 to 7.16 ± 0.16 g for leafy (LV), 0.18 ± 0.01 to 6.71 ± 0.49 g for non-leafy vegetables (NLV) and 1.21 ± 0.12 to 5.29 ± 0.20 g for fruits per 100 g edible portion (EP).  In the unconventional items, it arrayed from 3.08 ± 0.34 g to 7.75 ± 0.13 g for LV and 1.02 ± 0.06 to 8.82 ± 0.40 g for NLV per 100 g EP. Among the analysed samples, the highest and lowest content of TDF was found in Orohordal and Mairabokong, respectively. The unconventional vegetables contained much higher content of TDF than the ethnics and the commonly consumed similar varieties. Data on TDF content in underutilized vegetables and fruits of Bangladesh is sparse. Thus, the finding of this study would fill up the data gap in the existing food composition table of Bangladesh and also would aware the people to take vegetables and fruits rich in fibres.

Fatty Acid Composition, Phytochemistry, Antioxidant Activity on Seed Coat and Kernel of Paeonia ostii from Main Geographic Production Areas

Paeonia ostii is an important woody oil plant cultivated in China on a large scale. Its seed oil is enriched with unsaturated fatty acids and a high content of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which are beneficial to human health. The aim of this research is to determine the qualitative traits characteristic of P. ostii seed from various production areas in China. In this study, seed quality traits were evaluated on the basis of proximate composition, content of fatty acids, tocopherol, secondary metabolites, and the antioxidant activity of seed coat (PSC) and kernel (PSK). A high content of total fatty acids (298.89–399.34 mg g⁻¹), crude protein (16.91%–22.73%), and total tocopherols (167.83–276.70 μg g⁻¹) were obtained from PSK. Significant differences were found in the content of palmitic acids (11.31–14.27 mg g⁻¹), stearic acids (2.42–4.24 mg g⁻¹), oleic acids (111.25–157.63 mg g⁻¹), linoleic acids (54.39–83.59 mg g⁻¹), and ALA (99.85–144.71 mg g⁻¹) in the 11 main production areas. Eight and seventeen compounds were detected in PSC and PSK, respectively. A significantly higher content of total phenols was observed in PSC (139.49 mg g⁻¹) compared with PSK (3.04 mg g⁻¹), which was positively related to antioxidant activity. This study indicates that seeds of P. ostii would be a good source of valuable oil and provides a basis for seed quality evaluation for the production of edible oil and potential ALA supplements from the promising woody oil plant.