Physico-chemical and nutritional evaluation of indigenous wild fruit Kasmal, Berberis lycium Royle

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1 Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources Vol. 1(3), September 2010, pp Physico-chemical and nutritional evaluation of indigenous wild fruit Kasmal, Berberis lycium Royle P Sood 1 *, R Modgil 1 and M Sood 2 1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishv Vidyalya, Palampur , Himachal Pradesh, India 2 Division of Post Harvest Technology, SKUAST-J, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India Received 9 March 2009; Accepted 2 March 2010 Kasmal, Berberis lycium Royle is an indigenous fruit plant growing wild in the Himalayan region and has great economic and medicinal potential. It has been reported that these have been used for the treatment of several human diseases like liver and abdominal disorders, cough and skin diseases and as analgesic. The fruits are known to be hypoglycemic, antiinflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antipyretic and anticoagulant. Evaluation of nutritional status of the fruit was required for its popularization. The fruits were collected and analyzed for various physical, chemical, nutritional, anti-nutritional and organoleptic qualities. It was observed that kasmal fruits are thin and oblong small sized berries, light in weight with multiple seeds. The fruits contained 83.29% moisture content whereas protein, fat, ash and fibre contents are low. The fruits are sour in taste and contain low sugar, total carbohydrates, energy and dietary fibre. The content of vitamin C (10.83 mg/100g) and β carotene (343.0 µg/100 g) were low while, anthocyanins (82.47 mg/100 ml) are high in fruits. The mineral content and anti-nutritional components (phytic acid and phytate phosphorus) are low whereas oxalates were absent. Slightly higher quantity of tannin was observed, which might lead to astringent taste in fruits. The organoleptic evaluation indicated appreciation of colour of the fruits, while lower scores were obtained for texture, taste and overall acceptability. Keywords: Kasmal, Berberis lycium, Wild edible fruit, Dietary fibre, Proximate composition. IPC code; Int. cl. 8 A61 K 36/00, A61K 36/29 Introduction In most developing tropical countries the food situation is worsening owing to increasing population, shortage of fertile land, high prices of available staples and restrictions on import of the food 1,2. This has resulted in a high incidence of hunger and malnutrition, a situation in which children and women, especially pregnant and lactating women, are most vulnerable 3, 4. Moreover, food is now viewed not only as the source of nutrients for performing basic nutritional role but also as a powerful medicine. Thus, food has been conferred a status of functional food 5. The present day need is to have information about the new food sources and exploiting the vast number of less familiar plant resources existing in the nature. There are several foods that are consumed by people in different regions on a very limited scale especially among the tribal population. The primitive societies, viz. gujjars, bakarewals, gaddis, ladakhis and kinnars *Correspondent author purvika_sood@rediffmail.com Phone: ; Fax: residing in the Himalayan range of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh where temperature falls below 40ºC in winter and the intensity of ultraviolet radiations are comparatively high have been using these fruits since ancient times. Some of them include Akha, Kasmal, Kaiphal and Wild Jamun, Bael, Kainth, Fig, etc. which grow naturally in the season of summer. The time period varies from the month of April to August. These fruits have tremendous medicinal value and are used in curing various diseases. Composition of many of these fruits is not known 5. Kasmal, Berberis lyceum Royle belongs to family Berberidaceae and is a suberect, rigid, spiny shrub, 2.7 to 3.6 m in height having small pale yellow flowers and small berries, occurs abundantly in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Kumaun Hills at ,700 m altitude. Flowering in the shrub starts from the mid of March and remain in progress up to the end of April. The fruits start ripening from the second week of May and the mature ripened fruits are relished by the villagers and children from the month of May to July (Plate 1 & 2). Moreover, Kasmal is

2 SOOD et al: PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF BERBERIS LYCIUM 363 Materials and Methods The fully ripe fruits of kasmal (500 g) were collected from the forest area of Palampur H.P. and were stored in icebox to avoid physico-chemical changes during transportation from forest to the laboratory. In the laboratory fruits were washed with double distilled water before analysis. For accuracy, the fruits were divided in to three replications/lots and the analysis was carried out in triplicate, average values of the parameter are reported. The various parameters analysed are as under: Plate 1 Kasmal ripe fruits Plate 2 Kasmal fruiting twigs very important plant from the medicinal point of view. The fruits are given as a cooling laxative to children and antiscurbutic. The extract of the fruits is recommended against stomachache, intestinal problems and diarrhoea for 4-5 days. The stem is said to be diaphoretic and laxative and useful in rheumatism. The dried extract of the roots is used as an application in ophthalmia. It is also an excellent medication in the case of sun-blindness. The bark of its root is a valuable medicine in intermittent and remittent fevers 5. So, keeping in view its medicinal properties and little work available on its physico-chemical and nutritional properties the present study was aimed to conduct these studies on this lesser-known Himalayan wild fruit. Physical parameters The physical parameters analyzed were shape, colour (through visual perception), weight (100 fruit weight), size (length and diameter of the fruit was measured with the help of Vernier caliper) and specific gravity (weight /volume ratio). Chemical and nutritional parameters The edible portion (pulp) of fruit was analyzed for moisture, ash, fat and fibre as per methods reported in AOAC 6. Total nitrogen was analyzed by Microkjeldhal method and for crude protein the value was multiplied by The other parameter analyzed were ph, using digital portable ph meter, TSS (hand refractometer), titratable acidity (AOAC 6 ), NPN (nonprotein nitrogen) by Pellet and Young 7, true protein was calculated by difference in values of total crude nitrogen and NPN and then multiplying by the factor of Sugars, which include total and reducing sugars, were measured by the method reported in Rangana 8. Total carbohydrates were obtained by subtracting the values of moisture, crude fibre, crude protein, crude fat and ash from 100. Energy was estimated by the method of O shea and Maguire 9. The minerals analyzed were sodium, potassium and iron using atomic absorption spectrophotometer, calcium by flame photometer (Mediflame, 127) and phosphorus by following the method of Chen et al 10. Ascorbic acid in fresh fruit was estimated titrimatically using 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenol dye, β-carotene was determined as per method of Roy 11 and anthocyaninin in fruit juice was estimated following the method reported in Rangana 8,11. The dietary fibre constituents, viz. NDF, ADF, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose were analyzed according to Van Soest and Wine 12. Anti-nutritional parameters and organoleptic evaluation Various anti-nutritional parameters analyzed were tannins (AOAC 6 ), phytic acid (Haug and Lantzch 13 ),

3 364 INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, SEPTEMBER 2010 phytate phosphorus and oxalates (Abaza et al 14 ). Sensory evaluation depends upon the responses by different sense organs as eyes, taste buds of tongue and olfactory lobes of the nostril as per the method suggested by Gould 15. A minimum of 30 judges were selected at random giving due consideration to age and gender. Each panel member was asked to evaluate the fruits with respect to colour, flavour and texture on the prescribed form (10 point hedonic scale) and overall acceptability was calculated by taking mean of colour, flavour and texture. Results and Discussion The physico-chemical parameters of the fruit are given in Table 1. Ripe kasmal fruits are bluish purple, thin and oblong in shape. It was reported that the colour of B. umbellata Wall. is red and fruits are spherical in shape 16. The colour of B. aristata DC. fruits are grey white when young and bluish when ripe 17. The difference might have been due to species difference and varied agro-climatic conditions. The weight of hundred fruit was low and similarly the length, diameter and specific gravity of the fruit was less which might be due to its small size and light weight. As is clear from the Table 1 the moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat and crude fibre are 83.29, 0.82,1.81,0.63 and 0.81% whereas, Goel and Kumar 18 reported the moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat and crude fibre content as 88.1, 0.52, 1.22, 0.52 and 0.67% in kasmal fruit. However, the moisture and fat content in B. asiatica DC. were reported as 82.5 and 1.80 per cent 19. The slight variation in the result might be due to varied agro-climatic condition, species and Table 1 Physico-chemical parameters and organoleptic evaluation of Kasmal fruit Value/ Scores Weight (g/100 fruits) Length (cm) Diameter (cm) 1.5- Specific gravity (g/ml) 0.89 ± 0.02 Moisture (%) ± 0.12 Ash (%) 0.82 ±0.05 Crude Protein (%) (N 6.25) 1.81 ± 0.03 Crude Fat (%) 0.63 ± 0.25 Crude Fiber (%) 0.81 ± 0.01 Energy (Kcal) ± 0.15 Colour 8.63 (9)* Texture 7.50 (8) Taste 7.17 (9) Overall Acceptability 7.65 (8) *Maximum organoleptic score time of maturity. The energy content in fruit is kcal/100g however; Goel and Kumar 18 reported energy content in fruit as 46 kcal/100g. The organoleptic scores of the fruit are displayed in Table 1. The score ranged for colour, texture, taste and overall acceptability. The scores are in the good range, however; slightly lower value might be due to small size, multiple seeds, slightly astringent flavor. Various nutritional parameters of the fruit are given in Table 2. The ph of the fruit is acidic, however, the TSS of the fruit is 18.28ºBrix and acidity is low (1.32%), the TSS: acid ratio was per cent. NPN (a desirable trait) content (nitrates and nitrites) of the fruit was low and true protein content was also low; this might be due to lower amount of crude protein present in the fruit. This fruit contains 15.45% total sugar, 9.61%, reducing sugars and 5.33% non-reducing sugar (Table 2). However, Kharitonova 20 reported that the total sugars content in Berberis species vary from per cent. Total carbohydrate in the fruit was 12.64% whereas Goel and Kumar 18 reported the total carbohydrate in B. asiatica DC. as 9.2% which is slightly lower than the result of present investigation. The various dietary fibre constituents analyzed were NDF, ADF, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose and are given in Table 2. The higher NDF content might have been due to the higher amount of cell wall constituents, i.e., hemicellulose, cellulose, heat damaged protein, keratins and silica. The higher amount of ADF in this fruit might be due to the presence of high amount of fibrous proteins, leading to an increase in ADF content. The higher amount of Table 2 Nutritional parameters of Kasmal fruit Value ph 3.08 TSS (ºBrix) Titratable acidity (% citric acid) 1.32 ± 0.19 TSS: acid ratio Non-Protein Nitrogen (g/100g) 0.12 ± 0.01 True Protein (%) 1.09 ± 0.19 Total sugars (%) ± 0.29 Reducing sugars (%) 9.61 ± 0.16 Non-reducing sugars (%) 5.53 ± 0.11 Total Carbohydrates (%) ±.34 NDF (%) ± 0.52 ADF (%) ± 0.59 ADL (%) 6.65 ± 0.22 Cellulose (%) 7.94 ± 0.60 Hemicellulose (%) 6.01 ± 0.41

4 SOOD et al: PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF BERBERIS LYCIUM 365 lignin could be related to constituents of ADF and higher amount of cellulose in fruit is also perhaps due to higher amount of ADF. The lower amount of hemicellulose is related to very less difference between the NDF and ADF value. Hemicellulose content was found to be low in this fruit. Vitamins and pigments present in fruit are given in Table 3. The ascorbic acid content was mg/100g whereas other workers have reported higher value of ascorbic acid in other species of the genus. Novruzov 21 reported vitamin C content in B. orientalis as 135 mg/100g, whereas the vitamin C content in B. asiatica is mg/100 g. The β-carotene and calculated value of vitamin A of kasmal fruit are µg/100g and µg/100 g whereas β- carotene is reported to be 453 µg/100 g in B. asiatica 18. Kasmal fruit contained higher amount of anthocyanin in juice (82.47 mg/100 ml). Srivastava and Kumar 22 reported that higher the content of anthocyanins more purplish or bluish would be the colour of the fruit. Further the pigment is an indication of maturity as when green unripe fruits turn to bluish purple in colour. The high value of anthocyanins in kasmal fruits strongly support the need for its exploitation and increased utilization. The mineral content of the fruit is in appreciable amount of calcium (25.97 mg/100 g), phosphorus (38.0 mg/100 g), sodium (14.5 mg/100 g), potassium ( mg/100 g) and iron (2.61 mg/100 g) (Table 3). The value obtained in the present study is within the range given by Goel and Kumar 18 and Katiyar et al 16. The slight variation in result of present investigation might be due to difference in topography of soil, climatic condition coupled with varietal Table 3 Vitamins, pigments, minerals and anti-nutritional constituents of Kasmal fruit Value Ascorbic acid (mg/100g) ± 0.25 β-carotene (µg/100g) ± 0.89 Vitamin A (µg/100g) ± 0.17 Total Anthocyanin mg/100 ml juice ± 0.29 Calcium (mg/100g) ± 0.18 Phosphorus (mg/100g) 38.0 ± 0.24 Sodium (mg/100g) 14.5 ± 0.11 Potassium (mg/100g) ± 0.41 Iron (mg/100g) 2.61 ± 0.06 Tannins (mg/100g) 8.9 ± 0.15 Phytic acid (mg/100g) 2.5 ± 0.04 Phytate phosphorus (mg/100g) 0.78 ± 0.06 Oxalates (mg/100g) - differences. Table 3 shows presence of various antinutritional factors present in this fruit. Kasmal fruits contained 8.9 mg/100 g tannins which forms complexes with dietary protein and digestive enzymes, thereby reducing the digestibility of proteins 23. Kharitonova, while studying some Berberis species concluded that B. canadensis Mill. contained 7% tannins 20 whereas kasmal fruit contains low concentration of phytic acid and phytate phosphorus. The oxalates in kasmal fruit are not present. Conclusion Underexploited and underutilized natural resources with potential economic significance are crucial in maintaining subsistence life style in traditional mountain societies. The wild fruits of many species have served as dietary staples and medicine for thousands of years, particularly in the tribal and rural areas of Himalayas and kasmal fruit is one among them. The fruit is a good source of various nutrients especially anthocyanins, β-carotene, ascorbic acid and minerals. Considering their no cost of production, easy availability, hardy nature and abundant production, they need to be popularized and recommended for commercial exploitation. If people begin to derive an economic benefit from these wild plants, the natural environment of the area would be conserved and managed and the integrity of the food-chain relationships within the ecosystem can be maintained. References 1 Roy KS, Food, nutrition and environmental security through strategic post harvest management of fruits and vegetables, Indian Hort, 2001, 45(4), Chadha KL, Food, nutrition and environmental security through horticultural crops, Indian Hort, 2001, 45(4), Coulter JB, Suliman GI, Omer MI, MacFarlane SB, Moody JB and Hendrickse RG, Protein-energy malnutrition in northern Sudan: clinical studies, Eur J Clin Nutr, 1988, 42, Pelletier DL, The potentiating effects of malnutrition on child mortality: Epidemiologic evidence and policy implications, Nutr Rev, 1994, 52, Kaur, Charanjit and Maini SB, Fruits and vegetables health foods for new millennium, Indian Hort, 2001, 45(4), AOAC, Approved method of analysis, Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC, U.S.A, Pellet LP and Young VR, Nutritional evaluation of protein food, UN, UNIV, Publication, Rangana S, Handbook of analysis and quality control for fruits and vegetable products, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi, 3 rd Edition 1995.

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