Hundreds of fruit species with commercial potential are currently in a status of low economic importance. Some, such as quince, pomegranate, and fi gs, have been cultivated for thousands of years. Others have only been locally collected and consumed from wild populations of the fruit. The development of these underappreciated crops depends on a range of factors including the cultivation limitations, yields, uses of the fruit, and marketing potential. Although initially many crops are developed using selections from the wild, as they are developed, breeding programs work toward improving the crop for both production and quality. This chapter examines nine emerging crops chosen among hundreds of potential crops which are currently showing much promise as commercial crops. These include fi ve tree fruits, namely, pawpaw, quince, mayhaw, pomegranate, and fi g, and four berry crops, namely, blue honeysuckle, elder, goji, and 'ōhelo. Erect plant with spreading branches, reaches 6 m without size control; fruit orange to red L. chinense P. Mill Prostrate rambler, can grow on itself to 2 m (WPSM p. 694-696); fruit orange to red L. ruthenicum Murr.
Crude polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was extracted from pawpaw (Asimina triloba) fruit pulp, partially purified by gel filtration and electrophoresed for molecular weight (MW) determination. The enzyme activity was assayed by monitoring the absorbance (420 nm) of the PPO extract‐catechol mixtures over time. The PPO activity varied with pH and was the greatest at pH 6.5–7.0. The crude enzyme exhibited a maximum activity at 5–20C, but a brief exposure to 40–80C resulted in a rapid decline or complete loss of the enzyme activity. The enzyme kinetics based on the reaction rate in the linear region (0–60 s) showed a Vmax of 0.1363/s and a Km of 0.3266 M for the crude PPO. The PPO existed as two isoforms with MWs of 28.2 and 38.3 kDa, respectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Pawpaw fruit is a low‐acid, sweet and aromatic fruit grown in North America. With its intense flavor resembling a combination of banana, mango and pineapple, pawpaw fruit is being used in value‐added products such as ice creams, yogurts and baked foods. However, pawpaw fruit has a short postharvest shelf life because it is susceptible to brown or even black discoloration when stored at ambient temperatures. This study has identified that polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that oxidizes phenols (an endogenous compound present in pawpaw fruit pulp), is the cause for the discoloration. We also found that this enzyme is most active at neutral pH and at room temperature. These findings are important because they could help pawpaw growers and food processors to develop proper storage and processing methods to avoid the undesirable color changes.
-Worker and queen honey bees were fed individually with Nosema apis spores in sucrose solution and then returned to cages containing several hundred of their worker bee nestmates. After 3 to 7 days, the workers and queens that had been fed spores were sacrificed. Worker and queen ventriculi were removed and examined for spores by light microscopy, and DNA was extracted. The DNA was subjected to amplification with polymerase chain reaction, using primer sequences specific to N. apis DNA. The PCR analysis was more sensitive than examination for spores by light microscopy, in detecting N. apis infection. Worker bees and queen bees were infected at similar rates by the inoculation procedure.Apis mellifera / Nosema apis / PCR / queen / worker
The North American pawpaw [ Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] is a tree fruit in the early stages of commercial production in the United States. This plant contains annonaceous acetogenins in the twigs, unripe fruit, seeds, roots, and bark tissues, which display antitumor, pesticidal, antimalarial, anthelmintic, piscicidal, antiviral, and antimicrobial effects, suggesting many potentially useful applications. However, commercial development of these compounds, based on twig extracts, has been problematic due to limited availability of biomass for extraction. Additionally, acetogenin compounds contained in fruit of pawpaw relatives (soursop or Annona muricata ) and tea made from the leaves of these plants may lead to an increased risk of atypical Parkinsonism later in life with overconsumption of these compounds. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to determine if extracts of ripe pawpaw fruit pulp displayed acetogenin activity, (2) to identify potential acetogenin compounds in the fruit tissue, and (3) to determine if the acetogenin activity varied in diverse pawpaw genotypes and closely related Annona species. Extracts of ripe fruit had total extract weights and bioactivity using the brine shrimp bioassay similar to those from 'NC-1' pawpaw twig tissue. Pulp from soursop, cherimoya, and several additional pawpaw cultivars ('Mitchell', 'Overleese', 'NC-1','Zimmerman', 'Wells', and 'Sunflower') also displayed bioactivity, but peach or banana pulp did not. Ripe pawpaw pulp extract subjected to HPLC-MS analysis identified three prominent acetogenins: asimicin, bullatacin, and bullatalicin. This study points to pawpaw fruit pulp serving as a new biomass source for the extraction of acetogenin compounds for product development. An assessment of the potential human health risk of overconsumption of fruit and acetogenin bioavailability and degradation studies should be pursued.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.