Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LX
Written by Abhishek MUNDARAGI, Thangadurai DEVARAJAN, Shivanand BHAT, Sangeetha JEYABALAN
A study on fifteen minor fruits belonging to eleven families was undertaken. The fruits were harvested from different geographic locations of Western Ghats, viz., Uttar Kannada, Dharwad and Ooty. Ethnobotanically, various parts of these plants are utilized for treatment of wide array of health disorders such as jaundice, diabetes and dysentery. Fruits were screened for their proximate composition and mineral content. Further the relationship and variation between different attributes analyzed was investigated using two different statistical approaches such as principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Phenological characters among the studied fruits varied greatly indicating that the fruits occur at different seasons of a year. In the present study, proximate and mineral composition analysis of the fruits indicated that these minor fruits are rich source of nutrients and minerals. Study indicated that fruits such as Carissa spinarum, Opuntia dillenii, Flacourtia indica, Syzygium caryophyllatum, Ixora coccinea, Buchanania cochinchinensis and Phoenix sylvestris contained adequate quantity of nutrients. PCA analysis revealed variability of 53.97% as contributed by the first two components. Cluster analysis classified the fruits into four major groups. Therefore, these underutilized fruits act as potential source of essential nutrients and minerals to the rural communities and can find application in the nutraceutical and food industries.
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