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Assessment of variability in nutritional quality of wild edible fruit of Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) A. DC. Along the altitudinal gradient in Pakistan

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submitted on 2023-12-20, 08:32 and posted on 2024-01-10, 06:51 authored by Fayaz Ali, Nasrullah Khan, Kishwar Ali, Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Ezaz Hasan Khan, David Aaron Jones

The fruit of Monotheca buxifolia is among the underutilized wild edible fruits that grows in Hindukush and Suleiman range mountains of Pakistan. Mountain communities consume this wild fruit as a food, medicine and it provides an important source of income. In this study, we aimed to investigate the total yield and the effect that altitude plays on its proximate composition and mineral contents as determined through phytochemical screening of this economically important wild fruit. Our results indicate a significant increase in the total fruit yield with increasing trunk diameter (R2 = 0.98), height (R2 = 0.95) and cover (R2 = 0.92). The proximate composition shows that the crude fat and carbohydrate contents of Monotheca fruit significantly varies (P < 0.05) along the altitudinal gradient. Similarly, ANOVA followed by post hoc Tukey HSD, further confirms the variation (P < 0.01) in moisture contents of the fruit. Dry matter ranged from 95.28 ± 4.64 to 108 ± 3.70 g kg- 1 of the fruit’s edible portion, while protein contents varied between 17.16 % and 20.44 %. The fruits were found to be rich in minerals containing sizeable amounts of potassium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, nitrogen, magnesium, and copper. Significant difference was observed in the nitrogen (P < 0.01), potassium (P < 0.05) and sodium (P < 0.05) contents of the fruit along the altitudinal gradient. Similarly, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, reducing sugars, terpenoids, anthraquinones, and cardiac glycosides, were the most prominent chemicals found in Monotheca fruit. It was concluded that Monotheca fruit is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, macro and micro-nutrients which fluctuated along the altitudinal gradient.

Other Information

Published in: Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103489

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Elsevier

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • University of Doha for Science and Technology
  • College of General Education - UDST
  • College of Health Sciences - UDST

Geographic coverage

Pakistan

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