Vol. 3, Issue 7, Part N (2017)

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are immensely valued for their nutritional content and their potential health functionality against various degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, cataract, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The major groups of phytochemicals that have been suggested as a natural source of antioxidants may contribute to the total antioxidant activity of plant materials including polyphenols, carotenoid and traditional antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C and E. In this study, an attempt was made to estimate the beta carotene and total phenol content in five selected fruits (fresh and pickled) - Averrhoa bilimbi, Citrus limon, Carica papaya, Phyllanthus emblica and Mangifera indica. Among the five fruits, it was determined that pickled Mangifera indica showed the highest value (328.97g/100g) for beta carotene and fresh Citrus limon had the lowest amount (228.63g/100g). Among the fresh fruits, the first candidate with highest value was found to be Carica papaya, then Phyllanthus emblica, Mangifera indica, Averrhoa bilimbi and the least one was Citrus limon. In picked fruits, the highest value was given by Mangifera indica, followed by Carica papaya, Phyllanthus emblica, Averrhoa bilimbi and finally Citrus limon. Among the five selected fruits, it was determined that fresh Citrus limon had the highest amount of phenol (61.73gg/100g) and pickled Averrhoa bilimbi (22.36g/100g) had the lowest amount. These priliminary observations indicates that the process of pickling can do considerable changes in both β-carotene and total phenolic contents in the selected fruits.