Black guava (Psidium guajava L.): Morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization for pulp colour

Abstract

Guava is known as “Super fruit”; it is the third richest source of Vitamin C. In this study Black guava is characterized morphologically, biochemically and on molecular basis. Result revealed that Black guava had the maximum total anthocyan in content (9.663 mg/100g) compared to white and pink pulped counterparts. Pink pulped Hisar Surkha and Lalit genotypes contained both lycopene and anthocyanin while another pink pulped genotype, Punjab Pink, had only lycopene. Further, all the eight guava genotypes irrespective of their pulp colour had total carotenoids (0.203 mg/100g - 0.730 mg/100g). Based on our results, the Black guava had unique morphological features like leaf colour, shoot colour and fruit pulp colour. The pulp colour of Black guava is due to the presence of anthocyanins. In general, the pulp colour of guava is due to combinations of more than one pigment and the final colour depends on the relative proportion of those pigments and suggests that “pigments in proportions” explains the pulp colour in guava. Anthocyanin pathway study in Black guava revealed that the primers for DFR and CHS gene of anthocyanin pathway amplified in Punjab Pink and not in case of Black guava.