TY - JOUR
T1 - Moroccan strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits
T2 - Nutritional value and mineral composition
AU - Ait Lhaj, Zakaria
AU - Bchitou, Rahma
AU - Gaboun, Fatima
AU - Abdelwahd, Rabha
AU - Benabdelouahab, Tarik
AU - Kabbour, Mohammed Rachid
AU - Pare, Paul
AU - Diria, Ghizlane
AU - Bakhy, Khadija
N1 - Funding Information:
The author thanks the staff of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (N.I.R.A.) (Rabat, Morocco) for their kindness and help. Outman Bouhlal, Karima EL Kabous, and Hind Ibork are also acknowledged for their help and assistance in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), grown throughout the Mediterranean, produces edible fruit; as it is easily bruised, the sweet, reddish fruit is used mostly to prepare jams, marmalades and alcoholic beverages. As the genus is paraphyletic, phytochemical analysis can assist in defining the fruit composition with the species Arbutus unedo L. (A. unedo). Here we report on the carbohydrate, total sugar, protein, fat, fiber, ash, and mineral content of wild fruit, harvested from 45 specimens from five locations. The dominant nutrients were carbohydrates (78.2–84.8 g/100 g), total sugars (52.1–67.2 g/100 g) and dietary fiber (11.0–20.1 g/100 g). Other important nutrients supplied by A. unedo fruit include P, K, and Fe. The fruit was observed to contain health-promoting components providing 42 and 36%, of recommended daily allowance (RDA) for fiber and zinc, respectively, as well as iron and manganese, at levels exceeding minimum RDA. The free-sugar profile revealed high glucose followed by fructose content with minor amounts of sucrose (14, 11, and 6 g/100 g, respectively). Significant differences both between regions and within individuals were observed for several traits. The richness of fruit nutrients in A. unedo confers nutritional value and as such, a promising alternative fruit source.
AB - The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), grown throughout the Mediterranean, produces edible fruit; as it is easily bruised, the sweet, reddish fruit is used mostly to prepare jams, marmalades and alcoholic beverages. As the genus is paraphyletic, phytochemical analysis can assist in defining the fruit composition with the species Arbutus unedo L. (A. unedo). Here we report on the carbohydrate, total sugar, protein, fat, fiber, ash, and mineral content of wild fruit, harvested from 45 specimens from five locations. The dominant nutrients were carbohydrates (78.2–84.8 g/100 g), total sugars (52.1–67.2 g/100 g) and dietary fiber (11.0–20.1 g/100 g). Other important nutrients supplied by A. unedo fruit include P, K, and Fe. The fruit was observed to contain health-promoting components providing 42 and 36%, of recommended daily allowance (RDA) for fiber and zinc, respectively, as well as iron and manganese, at levels exceeding minimum RDA. The free-sugar profile revealed high glucose followed by fructose content with minor amounts of sucrose (14, 11, and 6 g/100 g, respectively). Significant differences both between regions and within individuals were observed for several traits. The richness of fruit nutrients in A. unedo confers nutritional value and as such, a promising alternative fruit source.
KW - Arbutus unedo L.
KW - Mineral composition
KW - Nutritional value
KW - Paraphyletic variability
KW - Wild edible fruit
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115937112&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/foods10102263
DO - 10.3390/foods10102263
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85115937112
VL - 10
JO - Foods
JF - Foods
SN - 2304-8158
IS - 10
M1 - 2263
ER -