Characterization of wild plum (Ximenia americana L. var. americana; Olacaceae) fruit growing at Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

As a country, Mexico presents an especially wide range of fruit germplasm diversity. Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico, belongs to The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, which is an arid zone recognized to have a flora diversity. In that place, wild plum (Ximenia americana L. var. americana; Olacaceae), locally named ''tihuixocote'' grows mainly in backyards, the fruit of this species is appreciated by native people due to its taste, which is reported to be a mixture between sweet and sour. Fruit from 15 trees were characterized by measuring bio-physical and bio-chemical parameters, including weight, diameter (equatorial and polar), relationship equatorial/polar diameters, total sugar, soluble solid content and phenolic compounds. The results of this study indicate variability for these various wild plum fruit characteristics among trees growing in a reduced territorial space.

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential fruit of Ximenia americana L.

“…Higher soluble sugars were observed by Mora et al (2009) being represented with an average of 8.9-23.8 g/100 g pulp. Both realized through the anthrone method which present itself sensible to some interfering factors, as pigments, but in this study these factors were controlled in the solution through the process of dilution and filtering.…”

Parasitic angiosperms as cultivated plants?

“…It has an intact photosynthesis apparatus, is often semi-cultivated and has been described as a facultative root parasite (Sleumer 1984;Verheij and Coronel 1991). The fact of parasitism is often overlooked or not especially mentioned by the fruit specialists (Natho 2001b;Mora et al 2009). …”

“…The fruit is a drupe, mostly yellow to orange, sometimes red in colour, subglobose to spherical, plum-like, 2 9 2.1 cm, with a single seed. Fruit weight 4.2-6.5 g (in Mexico, description after Sleumer 1984; Mora et al 2009). Larger trees (up to 10 m) and fruits (2-3.5 9 1.5-3 cm) have been described by Verheij and Coronel (1991).…”

“…In Sudan the wood is used as a substitute for true sandalwood (Bärner 1942). Leaves and fruits are also used medicinally (Lamien-Meda et al 2008;Da Silva et al 2008;Mora et al 2009). The leaves serve as a condiment in Indonesia (Verheij and Coronel 1991).…”

Physical-chemical characteristics and antioxidant potential of seed and pulp of Ximenia americana L. from the semiarid region of Brazil

“…Previous reports show that X. americana are rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C and phenolics, thus representing a good source of such compounds for humans (Rezanka;Sigler, 2007;Silva et al, 2008;Lamien-Meda et al, 2008;Mora et al, 2009). Besides the pulp, fruit may also be explored for their seeds yet, another study shows that wild plums seeds are very tasty and have been used as a food spice, despite their purgative effects (Brasileiro et al, 2008).…”