QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF NUTRITIONAL AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN BITTER MOMORDICA CHARANTIA FRUITS

What is it about?

Bitter gourd fruits (Brâncuși cultivar) from local production were studied for their content in some classes of nutritive compounds. Carotenoids (total, β-carotene, lycopene and lutein), phenolic compounds (total, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins), ascorbic acid, soluble sugars and lipids were determined. With 231/251 mg/kg DW (peel/pulp) total carotenoid content in M. charantia fruits was lower than in other known Cucurbitaceae. β-carotene was dominant in the peel while lycopene constituted a large fraction in the pulp. Lutein was found in low amounts (<1 mg/kg) only in the peel. On the contrary, with 13,527/18,598 mg/kg, the total phenolic inventory is richer than in many other related species. Flavonoids (8,763/14,545 mg/kg) were dominant in both peel and pulp. Of these, only a small fraction (267/212 mg/kg) were anthocyanins. Tannins constituted over 9.5% of the phenolic inventory. Ascorbic acid concentration was high, 14,689 mg/kg in peel and 12,847 mg/kg in pulp. Soluble sugars were 9,035/9,579 while lipids were 3,800/3,200 mg/kg.

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