Fatty Acid Profile, Tocopherol Content of Seed Oil, and Nutritional Analysis of Seed Cake of Wood Apple (Limonia acidissima L.), an Underutilized Fruit-Yielding Tree Species

Metabolomics analysis of Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis (Siebold ex Hoola van Nooten) Swingle and Limonia acidissima Linn. fruits and leaves in perspective to their antimicrobial potential

Antimicrobial potential of Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis (Siebold ex Hoola van Nooten) Swingle and Limonia acidissima L. fruits and leaves extracts CMF, CML, LAF and LAL, respectively were evaluated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for lipoidal matters revealed a high percentage of non-oxygenated compounds. Phytol was the major in LAL. Palmitic and linoleic acid were the major in CML and LAL, respectively. Rutin and P-hydroxy benzoic acid were the main compounds identified by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the plants extract were determined by the well diffusion method. Antimicrobial investigation for different successive fractions of active methanol extracts of CML, LAL, LAF and CMF showed the highest activity (CML), whereas the petroleum ether (CML PE) and MeOH (CML) fractions exhibit a significant antifungal activity against Candida albicans minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 12 and 15 µg/mL, respectively. The antifungal activity prevailed by C. medica leaves may be attributed to its polyphenolics (rutin, chlorogenic and rosmarinic acid) in addition to phenylated hydrocarbon.

Biochemical characterization of Soxhlet-extracted pulp oil of Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. fruit in Nigeria

Characterization and further development of underutilized/underexploited indigenous tropical seed oils are essential to supplement both nutritional and industrial needs of an ever-increasing African (and global) population. Before now and to our best knowledge, the previous research involved Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. fruit specific to Nigeria appear to have been more on the evaluation of seed, pulp, and essential oils (from the seed), but much less on the pulp oil. To supplement existing information, this current work has aimed to biochemically characterize the Soxhlet-extracted pulp oil of C. schweinfurthii fruit gathered from a community situated in the South-east of Nigeria. Specifically, the biochemical characterization comprised the determinations of proximate compositions, lipid peroxidation, fatty acid profile, as well as carotenoids, sterols, and tocopherols. Processing the fruit sample to pulp oil involved, among others, oven-drying, and grinding, prior to the Soxhlet extraction. Results of proximate components of C. schweinfurthii pulp oil showed the following trend: crude fat content (~ 49.32%) > carbohydrates (~ 37.93%) > moisture content (~ 8.62%) > ash content (~ 3.74%) > crude protein content (~ 0.39%) values. The lipid peroxidation attributes comprised acid (~ 23.60 mg KOH/g), peroxide (~ 33.91 mEq. O₂/kg), iodine (~ 58.3 g/100 g), and saponification (~ 138.21 mg KOH/g) values. In addition to the free (~ 13.8%), saturated (~ 9.74%), and unsaturated (~ 90.26%) fatty acids, a total of fifteen (15) fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) spectral peaks were found, from caprylic acid (C8:0) to lignoceric acid (C24:0). Total tocopherol concentration amounted to ~ 73 mg/100 g, which comprised α, β, γ-tocopherol, and δ-tocotrienol, with fair concentrations of carotenoids and sterols. Overall, the C. schweinfurthii pulp oil—biochemically competitive with a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acid, tocopherol, and sterol, suggests strong industrial promise.

Neglected and Underutilized Plant Species in Horticultural and Ornamental Systems: Perspectives for Biodiversity, Nutraceuticals and Agricultural Sustainability

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Analysis of Free Sugars, Organic Acids, and Fatty Acids of Wood Apple (Limonia acidissima L.) Fruit Pulp

Wood apple (Limonia acidissima L.) is an underutilized, fruit-yielding tree that is native to India and Sri Lanka. Wood apple trees are also cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos, and Indonesia for delicious fruits and medicinal purposes. The major objective of the present work was the analysis of the nutritional status of wood apple fruit pulp.The fruits are rich in total carbohydrates (24.74 ± 0.19%), total proteins (9.30 ± 0.16%), oil (0.99 ± 0.01%), fiber (3.32 ± 0.02%), and ash (2.73 ± 0.12%). Further analysis and quantification of free sugars, organic acids, and fatty acid methyl esters were carried out by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatographic (GC) methods. In total, five sugars and nine organic acids were detected and quantified. The predominant sugars were fructose (16.40 ± 0.23%) and glucose (14.23 ± 0.10%), whereas the predominant organic acids were D-tartaric (4.01 ± 0.03%), ascorbic (4.51 ± 0.05%), and citric acid (4.27 ± 0.04%). The oil content of fruit pulp was 0.99 ± 0.01% and GC-MS analysis revealed that, it comprise of 16 fatty acid methyl esters. The percentage of saturated fatty acids were 32.17 ± 0.35%, that includes palmitic (18.52 ± 0.12%) and stearic acids (9.02 ± 0.08%), whereas, the unsaturated fatty acids were 51.98 ± 0.94%, including oleic acid (23.89 ± 0.06%), α-linolenic acid (16.55 ± 0.26%), linoleic acid (10.02 ± 0.43%), and vaccenic acid (1.78 ± 0.23%).