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Ziziphus lotus fruits are consumed as food around the world and are highly valued for their distinctive flavor, nutritional and medicinal function. The functional properties of this fruit are attributed to the richness of bioactive compounds. Unfortunately, the extraction of these compounds and their inherent phytochemical characterization is rarely investigated under optimal extraction conditions. In this study, Z. lotus fruit pulp extracts rich in useful biocompounds in terms of its compositional and nutraceutical potential were obtained using heat-assisted extraction and response surface methodology. The optimal conditions were time: 71 min, temperature: 50 °C, solid to solvent ratio: 1:60 (g/mL) and ethanol concentration: 50% which gave 48.62% of yield, 106.64 mg Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry matter (DM) of reducing capacity with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent (FCR), 49.65 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g DM of total flavonoid content (TFC), 179.33 mg Trolox equivalent (TE)/g DM of DPPH scavenging activity (DPPH), 150.02 mg TE/g DM of Ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) and 108.76 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/g DM of total antioxidant activity (TAA). Under these conditions, a total of 38 compounds were identified using LC–ESI–MS/MS analysis. Furthermore, results showed that optimized extracts of Z. lotus fruit pulp possess good antibacterial activity. This study provides essential information of the potential application of useful and cost-effective method to recover bioactive compounds from Z. lotus fruit pulp that can be used as ingredient in functional food and nutraceutical products.

Kisra, a fermented sorghum flat bread, was prepared from two sorghum genotypes termed Wad-Ahmed (high tannin) and Tabat (low tannin) in Sudan that has been fermented with different starter levels [20, 50, 75 and 100 g of fermented baobab fruit pulp flour (FBFPF)/100 g flour]. Chemical composition, antinutritional factors, mineral extractability, ascorbic acid, in vitro protein (IVPD) and starch digestibilities (IVSD) of Kisra were determined. Preparation of Kisra with the sorghum genotypes fermented with higher levels of FBFPF enhanced the protein, fiber, fat, ash, and minerals contents and their extractability (P ≤ 0.05). Maximum amino acids contents were found in Kisra prepared from Tabat sorghum flour fermented with 100 g FBFPF/100 g flour. Ascorbic acid, IVPD and IVSD of Kisra from both genotypes increased with FBFPF levels, with a concomitant decrease in phytate and tannin contents (P ≤ 0.05). Sensory attributes of the Kisra were enhanced in Tabat and Wad-Ahmed sorghum genotypes prepared with 50 and 100 g FBFPF/100 g flour, respectively. Application of FBFPF is known to be an effective traditional starter, and it could improve the nutritional quality of Kisra bread.

The purpose of the study is to determine the nutritional characteristics of some by-products derived from fruit juice and olive oil production to evaluate their use in pig nutrition. Five by-products of citrus fruit (three citrus fruit pulp and two molasses) and three by-products of olive oil (olive cake) obtained by different varieties are analysed for chemical composition. The fermentation characteristics are evaluated in vitro using the gas production technique with swine faecal inoculum. All the citrus by-products are highly fermentable, producing gas and a high amount of short-chain fatty acids. The fermentation kinetics vary when comparing pulps and molasses. Citrus fruit pulps show lower and slower fermentation rates than molasses. The olive oil by-products, compared to citrus fruits ones, are richer in NDF and ADL. These characteristics negatively affect all the fermentation parameters. Therefore, the high concentration of fiber and lipids represents a key aspect in the nutrition of fattening pigs. The preliminary results obtained in this study confirm that the use of by-products in pig nutrition could represent a valid opportunity the reduce the livestock economic cost and environmental impact.

Increasing insight into the impact of the gut microbiota on human health has sustained the development of novel prebiotic ingredients. This exploratory study evaluated the prebiotic potential of baobab fruit pulp powder, which consists of pectic polysaccharides with unique composition as compared to other dietary sources, given that it is rich in low methoxylated homogalacturonan (HG). After applying dialysis procedures to remove simple sugars from the product (simulating their absorption along the upper gastrointestinal tract), 48 h fecal batch incubations were performed. Baobab fruit pulp powder boosted colonic acidification across three simulated human adult donors due to the significant stimulation of health-related metabolites acetate (+18.4 mM at 48 h), propionate (+5.5 mM at 48 h), and to a lesser extent butyrate (0.9 mM at 48 h). Further, there was a trend of increased lactate levels (+2.7 mM at 6h) and reduced branched chain fatty acid (bCFA) levels (−0.4 mM at 48 h). While Bacteroidetes levels increased for all donors, donor-dependent increases in Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli, and Firmicutes were observed, stressing the potential interindividual differences in microbial composition modulation upon Baobab fruit pulp powder treatment. Overall, Baobab fruit pulp powder fermentation displayed features of selective utilization by host microorganisms and, thus, has promising prebiotic potential (also in comparison with the ‘gold standard’ prebiotic inulin). Further research will be required to better characterize this prebiotic potential, accounting for the interindividual differences, while aiming to unravel the potential resulting health benefits.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of freeze-dried pulps of Eugenia uniflora L. and Opuntia ficus-indica fruits on oxidative stability of n-3-enriched beef patties. Besides, the effect of freeze-dried pulps on cooking yield, color, texture parameters and sensory acceptance of patties was also evaluated. Eugenia uniflora L. (orange-skinned variety) and Opuntia ficus-indica (orange-skinned and red-skinned varieties) fruits were collected, their pulp was lyophilized and incorporated, as a natural source of antioxidant, in beef patties enriched with canola oil as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oxidation stability of samples was monitored by measuring thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances during refrigerated storage. Results show that all freeze-dried pulps limited lipid oxidation to an acceptable level during 15 days refrigerated storage, having Opuntia ficus-indica (red-skinned variety) the highest inhibitory activity. Besides, the addition of freeze-dried pulps increased the cooking yield and decreased the hardness of beef patties. Respect to sensorial parameters, patties elaborated with no added freeze-dried fruit pulp and patties elaborated with freeze-dried pulp of Opuntia ficus-indica (red-skinned variety) presented the highest overall acceptance of consumers, remaining as a future task to improve the color and taste of patties elaborated with freeze-dried pulps of Eugenia uniflora L. and Opuntia ficus-indica (orange-skinned variety). This research reveals the effectiveness of studied fruits to reduce lipid oxidation in beef patties. In addition, preliminary information about which sensorial parameters of these products should be improved in futures incorporation of pulps in the manufacture of healthy meat products.

The combination of products traditionally consumed with other components with the alleged classification of functional food has become a continuous reality, if not a necessity.This article investigated the supplementation of tropical fruit pulps (acerola—Malpighia emarginata, guava—Psidium guajava, passion fruit—Passiflora edulis and mandarin—Citrus reticulata), with 5–10% (m/V) on vegetal/microbial protein sources (soy protein, beer yeast and bee pollen). Viscosity and colour analysis were carried out and differences between fruit pulp with no addition and those supplemented were verified, with a specific importance to soy protein, which increased 5–10 times pulps viscosity, while the remaining supplemented formulations, 1.5–3 times. Between the sensory factors (colour, flavour, aroma and appearance), flavour significantly influenced the acceptance of the product (p < 0.05). The nutritional information provided to tasters, as well as to specific age groups (children, elderly and youngsters/adults), significantly increased the product’s acceptance; with values ranging between 70 and 80% in some cases, demonstrating the importance of cognitive response on those factors.

The addition of pectin to fluid systems alters its gelling, consistency, and texture characteristics. Thus, the use of this acid polysaccharide in product development can generate materials with different technological properties, capable of industrial use. For this, low-cost pectin sources are required. Among these is passion fruit, whose peel is an industrial byproduct that is rich in pectin. It is noteworthy that passion fruit peel is a byproduct generated in large quantities during fruit processing for the production of passion fruit pulp and juice, and that Brazil is the world’s largest fruit producer. In this context, this review presents the characteristics of several methods (conventional extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, extraction with subcritical fluids, UAE, MAE, UAME, S-MAE, HHP, DESs, and NADESs) used for pectin extraction and explains the effect of the studied variables, with emphasis on the extraction from passion fruit peel. The application of pectins in different industrial systems is also addressed. Pectins are featured as functional food ingredients of high commercial value due to their technological properties. It also has applications in different areas, such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Host and tissue-specificity of endophytes are important attributes that limit the endophyte application on multiple crops. Therefore, understanding the endophytic composition of the targeted crop is essential, especially for the dioecious plants where the male and female plants are different. Here, efforts were made to understand the endophytic bacterial composition of the dioecious Siraitia grosvenorii plant using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The present study revealed the association of distinct endophytic bacterial communities with different parts of male and female plants. Roots of male and female plants had a higher bacterial diversity than other parts of plants, and the roots of male plants had more bacterial diversity than the roots of female plants. Endophytes belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria were abundant in all parts of male and female plants except male stems and fruit pulp, where the Firmicutes were most abundant. Class Gammaproteobacteria predominated in both male and female plants, with the genus Acinetobacter as the most dominant and part of the core microbiome of the plant (present in all parts of both, male and female plants). The presence of distinct taxa specific to male and female plants was also identified. Macrococcus , Facklamia , and Propionibacterium were the distinct genera found only in fruit pulp, the edible part of S. grosvenorii . Predictive functional analysis revealed the abundance of enzymes of secondary metabolite (especially mogroside) biosynthesis in the associated endophytic community with predominance in roots. The present study revealed bacterial endophytic communities of male and female S. grosvenorii plants that can be further explored for monk fruit cultivation, mogroside production, and early-stage identification of male and female plants. Key points • Male and female Siraitia grosvenorii plants had distinct endophytic communities • The diversity of endophytic communities was specific to different parts of plants • S. grosvenorii-associated endophytes may be valuable for mogroside biosynthesis and monk fruit cultivation

The dispersal-syndrome hypothesis posits that fruit traits are a product of selection by frugivores. Although criticized as adaptationist, recent studies have suggested that traits such as fruit or seed size, colour and odour exhibit signatures that imply selection by animal mutualists. These traits imply nutritional rewards (e.g. lipid, carbohydrate), attracting frugivores; however, this remains incompletely resolved. Here, we investigated whether fruit nutrients (lipid, sugar, protein, vitamin C, water content) moderate the co-adaptation of key disperser-group mutualisms. Multivariate techniques revealed that fruit nutrients assembled non-randomly and grouped according to key dispersal modes. Bird-dispersed fruits were richer in lipids than mammal-dispersed fruits. Mixed-dispersed fruits had significantly higher vitamin C than did mammal- or bird-dispersed fruits separately. Sugar and water content were consistently high irrespective of dispersal modes, suggesting that these traits appeal to both avian and mammalian frugivores to match high-energy requirements. Similarly, protein content was low irrespective of dispersal modes, corroborating that birds and mammals avoid protein-rich fruits, which are often associated with toxic levels of nitrogenous secondary compounds. Our results provide substantial over-arching evidence that seed disperser assemblages co-exert fundamental selection pressures on fruit nutrient trait adaptation, with broad implications for structuring fruit–frugivore mutualism and maintaining fruit trait diversity.

Background Invertases (INVs) are key enzymes in sugar metabolism, cleaving sucrose into glucose and fructose and playing an important role in plant development and the stress response, however, the INV gene family in passion fruit has not been systematically reported. Results In this study, a total of 16 PeINV genes were identified from the passion fruit genome and named according to their subcellular location and chromosome position. These include six cell wall invertase (CWINV) genes, two vacuolar invertase (VINV) genes, and eight neutral/alkaline invertase (N/AINV) genes. The gene structures, phylogenetic tree, and cis-acting elements of PeINV gene family were predicted using bioinformatics methods. Results showed that the upstream promoter region of the PeINV genes contained various response elements; particularly, PeVINV2 , PeN/AINV3 , PeN/AINV5 , PeN/AINV6 , PeN/AINV7 , and PeN/AINV8 had more response elements. Additionally, the expression profiles of PeINV genes under different abiotic stresses (drought, salt, cold temperature, and high temperature) indicated that PeCWINV5 , PeCWINV6 , PeVINV1 , PeVINV2 , PeN/AINV2 , PeN/AINV3 , PeN/AINV6 , and PeN/AINV7 responded significantly to these abiotic stresses, which was consistent with cis-acting element prediction results. Sucrose, glucose, and fructose are main soluble components in passion fruit pulp. The contents of total soluble sugar, hexoses, and sweetness index increased significantly at early stages during fruit ripening. Transcriptome data showed that with an increase in fruit development and maturity, the expression levels of PeCWINV2 , PeCWINV5 , and PeN/AINV3 exhibited an up-regulated trend, especially for PeCWINV5 which showed highest abundance, this correlated with the accumulation of soluble sugar and sweetness index. Transient overexpression results demonstrated that the contents of fructose, glucose and sucrose increased in the pulp of PeCWINV5 overexpressing fruit. It is speculated that this cell wall invertase gene, PeCWINV5 , may play an important role in sucrose unloading and hexose accumulation. Conclusion In this study, we systematically identified INV genes in passion fruit for the first time and further investigated their physicochemical properties, evolution, and expression patterns. Furthermore, we screened out a key candidate gene involved in hexose accumulation. This study lays a foundation for further study on INV genes and will be beneficial on the genetic improvement of passion fruit breeding.