Musa spp., comprising banana and plantain, are among the world's leading fruit crops. Worldwide, 103 million tonnes were produced in 2004, according to FAO statistics database. Few bananas produced undergo industrial processing. Plantain and unripe banana are consumed cooked, whereas, mature dessert banana is eaten raw. Characterising bananas, their processed products and processed consumption forms, is a key precondition for objective communication on these foodstuffs. This will enable niche markets for this major crop, undifferentiated product flows of which are in competition on the worldwide market, to be structured on an objective qualitative basis.

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Our objective was to compare fruit morphology, physico-chemistry and bioactive compounds content of the edible pulp of six Mammea americana accessions. The results showed that this fruit was rather big, weighing on average 600 to 1100g depending on the accession, and spherical to oblate-shaped. The pulp represented between 50 and 70% of the weight of the whole fruit. The pulp adhered only partially to the seeds in 5 of the 6 accessions studied, while the last one exhibited full adherence. The fresh pulp was acidic, sweet, succulent and crunchy. The fruits studied had a variety of qualities, providing various opportunities for post-harvest uses: fruit salads, nectar preparation, jams and jellies, or export. We have established for the first time the total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids contents in the pulp of mamey apple fruits. The pulp colour was highly correlated with total phenolic compounds and total carotenoids contents.

Physicochemical characterisation of the mature-green Golden apple (Spondias cytherea Sonnerat). Abstract-Introduction. Mature-green Golden apples (Spondias cytherea Sonnerat) are used in the French West Indies for the preparation of a nectar. With the aim of improving the fruit processing conditions for a better quality of this beverage, morphological and compositional characteristics of the mature-green fruits were determined. Materials and methods. Maturegreen fruits were harvested in Martinique (French West Indies) and characterised: diameter, length, mass, and colour were determined; pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids, sugars, proteins, starch, fibre, vitamin C, phenols and green pigments were measured. Results and discussion. Average fruit length, diameter and weight were 71 mm, 54 mm and 116.4 g, respectively. With a low pH (2.6) and a high titratable acidity (1.3 g citric acid Eq•100 g-1 fresh material), maturegreen Golden apple is an acidic fruit comparable to the lemon. The fruit is rich in vitamin C (52.0 mg•100 g-1), phenols (349.5 mg gallic acid Eq•100 g-1) and starch (7.1 g•100 g-1). The pale green colour of the pulp is due to pheophytins a and b. Conclusion. Our study provided a detailed analysis of mature-green Golden apples, which will be taken into account for the improvement of nectar processing conditions. France / Guadeloupe / Spondias cytherea / Anacardiaceae / fruits / chemical composition / ascorbic acid / starch / phenols / chlorophylls / phaeophytins Caractérisation physico-chimique de la prune de Cythère mature verte (Spondias cytherea Sonnerat). Résumé-Introduction. La prune de Cythère verte mature (Spondias cytherea Sonnerat) est utilisée aux Antilles françaises pour la préparation d'un nectar. Les caractéristiques morphologiques et la composition de ce fruit ont été déterminées avec l'objectif d'améliorer à terme ses conditions de transformation pour une meilleure qualité de la boisson obtenue. Matériel et méthodes. Des fruits verts matures ont été récoltés en Martinique (Antilles françaises) et caractérisés : le diamètre, la longueur, le poids et la couleur ont été déterminés ; le pH, l'acidité titrable, les solides solubles, les sucres, les protéines, l'amidon, les fibres, la vitamine C, les phénols et les pigments verts ont été mesurés. Résultats et discussion. Les longueur, diamètre et poid moyen des fruits sont respectivement de 71 mm, 54 mm et 116,4 g. Avec un pH faible (2,6) et une acidité titrable élevée (1,3 g Eq acide citrique•100 g-1 matière fraîche), la prune de Cythère verte est un fruit acide comparable au citron. Le fruit est riche en vitamine C (52,0 mg•100 g-1), en phénols (349,5 mg Eq acide gallique•100 g-1) et en amidon (7,1 g•100 g-1). La couleur vert pâle de la pulpe industrielle est due aux phéophytines a et b. Conclusion. Notre étude a fourni une analyse détaillée de prunes de Cythère vertes matures qui sera prise en compte pour améliorer les conditions de leur transformation en nectar.