Fresh figs (Ficus carica L.): pomological characteristics, nutritional value, and phytochemical properties

Abstract

Ficus carica L. (Moraceae) is a wild spread tree including more than 600 cultivars with different phenotypic characteristics. Their fruits are a good natural source of nutrients, minerals, and phytochemicals, which may improve human health. The pomological characteristics of nine Algerian cultivars of fresh figs were determined using descriptors resulting from the IPGRI and CIHEAM list. The consumer test was carried out using an in-store consumer test. The proximal components (dry matter, ash, titratable acidity, crude protein (Kjeldahl), ascorbic acid, and carbohydrates) were estimated using the AFNOR and Dubois methods. Minerals (Ca, K, and Na) were analyzed using a flame spectrophotometer. Phosphorus, phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and condensed tannin concentrations were quantified by UV-spectrophotometer. The antioxidant capacity was evaluated using the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The pomological results obtained made it possible to discriminate between the different fig cultivars. Skin color results indicate two groups (light skin and dark skin groups). The consumers preferred 'Boughandjo', 'Bither', and 'Bakkor Biadh', with high percentages of acceptance (68.75, 70.31 and 75%). Figs are a good source of carbohydrates (especially 'Safra' pulp [26.02 ± 0.63 g 100 g -1 Fresh weight]), vitamin C ( 10.67 ± 0.31 mg 100 g -1 Fresh weight for 'Onk Elhamam' peel), and potassium and calcium (266.67 ± 2.78 and 125.44 ± 3.37 mg 100 g -1 Fresh weight for 'Bakkor Khal' peel, respectively). In the majority of the tested cultivars, peels exhibited higher phenolic (1.63 vs. 1.11 mg gallic acid equivalents g -1 Fresh weight), flavonoid (147.76 vs. 83.82 µg quercetin equivalents g -1 Fresh weight), anthocyanin (64.82 vs. 41.72 µg cyanidin-3-rutinoside equivalents g -1 Fresh weight) and condensed tannin (6.08 vs. 2,06 µg catechol equivalents g -1 Fresh weight) levels and antioxidant activities (18.91 vs. 29.51 mg mL -1 ) than pulps. Peels of dark cultivars showed higher phytochemical and antioxidant properties than those of light cultivars. Antioxidant activity was correlated with total phenolic and condensed tannin concentrations (r = 0.521 and 0.659). The pomological characterization and consumer tests reported here are important for allowing farmers to judge about the potential of the tested cultivars and could be helpful during fig breeding and cultivar selection. Based on their diversity, tastes, nutritional and phytochemical What is the expected impact on horticulture?• Our data will likely help farmers to select the most appropriate cultivars for fresh consumption, especially those of higher yield (e.g., 'Boughandjo') and precocious types (e.g., 'Bither'). Our data will also help farmers identify those cultivars with the greatest nutritional value and phytochemical properties.attributes, we recommend figs (especially those with dark skin) as healthy food.

Nutritional, chemical and bioactive profiles of different parts of a Portuguese common fig (Ficus carica L.) variety

“…likewise, the peel's phenolic acids content (0.77 ± 0.01 mg/g) was significantly higher than the value verified for the pulp (0.542 ± 0.001 mg/g). Dozens of previous studies have evaluated the phenolic constitution of whole figs (fresh and/or dried, from very many varieties), and a great part of these papers comparatively assessed the fruits' peel and pulp fractions, using spectrophotometric and/or chromatographic approaches (Solomon et al, 2006;Del Caro & Piga, 2008;Oliveira et al, 2009;Russo et al, 2014;Kamiloglu & Capanoglu, 2015;Hoxha & Kongoli, 2016;Ajmal et al, 2016;Ammar et al, 2015;Harzallah et al, 2016;Vallejo et al, 2012;Wojdyło et al, 2016;Maghsoudlou et al, 2017;Pereira et al, 2017;Mahmoudi et al, 2018;Meziant et al 2018;Mopuri et al, 2018). In many cases, the TPCs were given in gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g fw, whereas the TFCs were expressed as mg (+)-catechin equivalent (CE)/g fw.…”

“…In the past years, several groups have investigated the polyphenol constitution of the distinct parts of F. carica fruits (fresh and/or dried) from Israel (Solomon et al, 2006), Italy (Del Caro & Piga, 2008), Portugal (Oliveira et al, 2009), Turkey and Greece (Kamiloglu & Capanoglu, 2015;Russo, Caporaso, Paduano, & Sacchi, 2014), Albania (Hoxha & Kongoli, 2016), Pakistan (Ajmal et al, 2016), Tunisia (Ammar, del Mar Contreras, Belguith-Hadrich, Segura-Carretero, & Bouaziz, 2015;Harzallah, Bhouri, Amri, Soltana, & Hammami, 2016), Iran (Maghsoudlou, Esmaeilzadeh Kenari, & Raftani Amiri, 2017), Spain (Pereira et al, 2017;Vallejo, Marín, & Tomás-Barberán, 2012;Wojdyło, Nowicka, Carbonell-Barrachina, & Hernández, 2016), Algeria (Mahmoudi et al, 2018;Meziant et al 2018), India and South Africa (Mopuri et al, 2018). Some authors have studied the volatile profile of many Portuguese fig cultivars (Oliveira et al, 2010;Rodríguez-Solana et al, 2018), whereas a recent work of our group demonstrated the feasibility of recovering bioactive anthocyanin pigments from the peel of a Portuguese purple fig variety via emerging technologies (Backes et al, 2018).…”

First report on fatty acids composition, total phenolics and antioxidant activity in seeds oil of four fig cultivars (Ficus carica L.) grown in Morocco

“…As, one of the most important fruits in the Mediterranean diet providing high concentrations of phytochemicals and antioxidant compounds (Hssaini et al, 2019), figs (Ficus carica L.) are known to contain considerable amounts of seeds, that differ in their number and size and contribute to the taste and flavor of fresh and dry figs (Gaaliche et al, 2011). This aspect is strongly dependent to the varietal profile, ripening stage and caprification (Solomon et al, 2006;Rosianski et al, 2016;Mahmoudi et al, 2018). Figs were given a particular interest by researchers.…”

Formulation of goat’s milk yogurt with fig powder: Aromatic profile, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics

“…The antioxidant activity of the ethyl acetate extract of fig powder was determined by the DPPH· method (2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) as described by Mahmoudi et al. (2018).…”

“…The following parameters were determined in goat’s milk and yogurts: titratable acidity using 0.1 N sodium hydroxide (AOAC, 947.05), total solids (AOAC 925.23), total ashes (AOAC 945.46), fats (%) by Gerber method (Sboui et al., 2016), carbohydrates (Dubois et al., 1956) and proteins by Kjeldahl (AOAC, 920.105). Physicochemical characteristics of fig powder were analyzed according to Mahmoudi et al. (2018).…”