Tracking the Variations in Trace Elements, Some Nutrients, Phenolics, and Anthocyanins in Grewia asiatica L. (Phalsa) at Different Fruit Development Stages.

Abstract

Grewia asiatica L. (phalsa) is a very prevalent berry in Pakistan and is consumed extensively asraw or in the form of juice. Here, for the first time, we assessedphalsa from Pakistan in terms of variations in macro and micro minerals, nutrients,and bio-active phyto-constituents including total phenolic and anthocyanin contentsat different fruit developmental stages. It was found that the sugars in phalsa increased from D1 (small at the initial fruit setting stage) to D6 developmentstage (fully ripened fruit) where sugars at D5 (near to fully ripe) and D6 stages were many times greater than at D1, D2 (unripe close to full-size completion), D3 (close to semi ripe), and D4 stage (semi ripened and full-size attainment). Total acidity of was declined in all developmental stages, where the D1 stage displayed maximum and D6 with the lowest acidity. Ascorbic acid was decreased from D1 to D2 and then increased graduallyfrom D3 to D5 stages. At the D6 stage, againa steep decline in ascorbic acid was observed. The total phenolics (mg gallic acid equivalents/100g) at stage D6 were higher (136.02 ± 1.17), whereas D1 being the lowermost in totalphenolic content (79.89 ± 1.72). For anthocyanins (mg/100g), an increasing pattern of changes was observed in all stages of phalsa fruit where the D1 stage showed lower (13.97 ± 4.84) anthocyanin contents which then increased gradually at stage D2 (67.79 ± 6.73), but increased sharply at D3 (199.66 ± 4.90), D4 (211.02 ± 18.85), D5 (328.41 ±14.96) and D6 (532.30 ± 8.51) stages. A total of four anthocyanins such as cyanidin, delphidine-3-glucoside, pelargonidin, and malvidin in phalsa were identified using HPLC procedures, and a significant > 90 % DPPH inhibition in phalsa was observed at the D5 and D6 developmentstages. The macro and micro minerals includingNi, Zn, Fe, Ca, Cu, Mg, Na, P, and K contents were decreased from initial (D1) stage tothe final (D6)development stage, while only Fe displayed an increasing trend from the initial to final fruit development stages (D1-D6). Conclusively, these findings could be of greatinterest for patients who are intended to consume phalsa as adjuvant therapy against diabetes and metabolic syndromes and other diseases involving reactive oxygen species with minimum metal toxicity.