The essential oil of the stems and fruits of Caralluma europaea (Guss.) N.E.Br. (Apocynaceae) from Lampedusa Island has been obtained by hydrodistillation and its composition analyzed. The analyses allowed the identification and quantification of 74 volatile compounds, of which 16 were aromatic and 58 non-aromatic. Stems and fruits contained 1.4% and 2.7% of aromatic compounds respectively, whi...

Embelin (2,5-dihydroxy-3-undecyl-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-benzoquinone) is a phenolic compound found in the fruits of Embelia tsjeriam-cottam and is responsible for the medicinal properties of the plant Thus the fruits are harvested at a large scale before maturity leading to depletion of population. Since the chemical constituents of medicinal plants are directly associated with the harvesting t...

One major problem with frozen fruits is a loss of texture. Therefore this study investigated the effects of the freezing process on the freezing profiles, texture, and drip loss of apple, mango, cantaloupe, and pineapple fruit samples. All frozenthawed fruits varied in these three properties because of diversity in the fresh fruits. Mango had the highest total soluble solids content and the low...

BACKGROUND Cherries are a valuable dietary raw material and possess medicinal properties. Considering the nutritional, medical and vitamin value of cherry fruits, the purpose of this research was to produce a scientific justification for preserving the quality of cherry fruits using different freezing methods. METHODS To do this, cherry fruits from the Lotovka (Cerasus vulgaris) variety were ...

BACKGROUND It is not known which of the commonly consumed fruits in Nigeria are suitable for persons with diabetes mellitus especially with regards to the attendant plasma glucose response (PGR) to consumption of such fruits. OBJECTIVES To determine and compare the PGR to commonly eaten fruits in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS Ten persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus were studied...

Softening, a common phenomenon in many fruits, is a well coordinated and genetically determined process. However, the process of flesh softening during ripening has rarely been described in hawthorn. In this study, we found that 'Ruanrou Shanlihong 3 Hao' fruits became softer during ripening, whereas 'Qiu JinXing' fruits remained hard. At late developmental stages, the firmness of 'Ruanrou Shan...

The postharvest quality of tomato fruit harvested at the pink stage and dipped in 3 different concentrations of CaCl2 for different dip times (30, 20 and 10 minutes) were studied. Tomato fruits dipped in 6% CaCl2 for 30 and 20 minutes retained significantly (P < 0.05) higher level of firmness, titrable acidity and vitamin C than fruits dipped in 2% CaCl2 and the control. The calcium chloride tr...

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000), Browse Plus (BP), wood ash (WA) and boiling water were evaluated as tannin deactivation methods on tannins in Acacia nilotica fruits. Twenty four Matebele goats of mean body mass, 38.7 ± 3.12 kg, were used in a digestibility and nitrogen balance trial. A completely randomized design was used, and the initial weight was used as a covariate in data analysis. The go...

Olive scale (Parlatoria oleae (Colvée)) is a common pest in Mediterranean olive orchards which primarily causes damage on olive fruits. The quality of virgin olive oil is strongly related to the health status of the olive fruits from which is extracted. In this paper the effects of olive scale (Parlatoria oleae (Colvée)) attack on the oil yield, chemical and sensorial quality, as well as on the...