Barberry Fruit Research Articles

مقایسه برخی ازخصوصیات فیزیکی و شیمیایی سه ژنوتیپ زرشک دانه‌دار بومی استان سمنان

کسب اطلاعات در مورد گیاهان بومی بعنوان منابع غذایی عملگر (فراسودمند) رو به افزایش است. یکی از این گیاهان، گونه‌های وحشی زرشک(Berberis. spp.) می‌باشد که بررسی خصوصیات فیزیکی و شیمیایی آنها می‌تواند زمینه کاربردشان را در صنایع غذایی و دارویی فراهم کند. لذا در این پژوهش بمنظور معرفی بیشتر این گیاه ارزشمند بومی، سه ژنوتیپ موجود در باغ کلکسیون زرشک پژوهشکده علوم و صنایع غذایی درسال 1390جمع‌آوری و برخی از خواص فیزیکی و شیمیایی آنها مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. نتایج حاکی از آن بود که بین خصوصیات فیزیکی بررسی شده فقط در طول میوه سه ژنوتیپ اختلاف‌ آماری معنی‌داری در سطح 5 درصدوجود داشت. هر سه ژنوتیپ حاوی میزان بالای چربی، پروتئین، کربوهیدرات و خاکستر بودند. ژنوتیپ نوشین دارای بالاترین قند احیاکننده (222/0±03/8) و در نتیجه دارای مزه شیرین‌تری نسبت به دو ژنوتیپ دیگر بود. هر سه ژنوتیپ در مقایسه با سایر میوه‌ها رنگی نظیر شاتوتو زغال اخته حاوی مقادیر قابل توجهی آنتوسیانین (60/3927-17/950 میلی‌گرم/ لیتر) و ترکیبات فنلی (35/12-75/9 گرم/ لیتر) بودند که بیانگر خواص سلامت‌بخش این میوه‌های خودرو و بومی می‌باشد. بلحاظ مواد معدنی هر سه ژنوتیپ غنی از ریزمغذی‌های مورد نیاز بدن انسان نظیر پتاسیم، کلسیم، منیزیم و روی بودند.

Green synthesis of the Pd nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide using barberry fruit extract and its application as a recyclable and heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of nitroarenes

Through this manuscript the green synthesis of palladium nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide (Pd NPs/RGO) under the mild conditions through reduction of the graphene oxide and Pd2+ ions using barberry fruit extract as reducing and stabilizing agent is reported. The as-prepared Pd NPs/RGO was characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The Pd NPs/RGO could be used as an efficient and heterogeneous catalyst for reduction of nitroarenes using sodium borohydride in an environmental friendly medium. Excellent yields of products were obtained with a wide range of substrates and the catalyst was recycled multiple times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity.

Effect of Extraction and Processing Conditions on Organic Acids of Barberry Fruits

The bioactive compounds of barberry such as organic acids are widely used in medical and food industries. The effects of extraction and processing conditions including varieties (B. integerrima: A, B. vulgaris: P), solvents (water: W, ethanol: E), light (presence: L or absence: T), pH (3 and 1.5), temperatures (25 and 50C), processes of heating (at 95 and 80C), chilling (ref. 1 and 2 months), freezing (con), microwave (mic) and gamma irradiation (at doses of 0.5–10 kGy) on organic acid profile were studied. The highest (acetic, malic and ascorbic) and lowest (fumaric) amounts (mg/100g extract) of organic acids in extraction conditions were as follows: acetic in AWT325 (23,124.53 ± 747.33), malic in PET1.525 (21,035.18 ± 21.05), ascorbic in AET350 (19,796.20 ± 104.44) and fumaric in PWL325 (62.30 ± 0.45). The highest and lowest amounts of organic acids in processing conditions were as follows, respectively: acetic (Amic 17,915.07 ± 164.38) and fumaric (Acon 38.84 ± 1.44). Practical Applications The Berberis vulgaris fruit is useful as tonic for liver and heart; it prevents chronic bleeding; reduces mucus, triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure; and also purifies the blood. It is effective in the treatment of gallbladder, bleeding hemorrhoids, antiparasitic liver, diabetes, gout, kidney stones, colon cancer, prostate inflammation, malaria, fever, asthma and neurological diseases. Owing to its color and mellow taste B. vulgaris fruit is used as a seasoning in Persian food. Barberry fruits are used in preparing sauces, jellies, carbonated drinks, candies, food color powders, jams, marmalades, chocolates and nectars. B. integerrima fruits are used to prepare juices. The use of barberry fruit as a natural food colorant rich in anthocyanins instead of harmful artificial ones was studied by researchers. In addition, barberry fruits contain polyphenols with beneficial antioxidant activities that reduce damages due to free radicals and prevent chronic diseases and cancers.

The promising effect of barberry (Zereshk) extract against experimental pulmonary microvascular remodeling and hypertension: A comparison with sildenafil

Context: Despite the beneficial effects of barberry (Berberis integerrima Berberidaceae) on decreasing systemic hypertension, its influence has not been investigated on pulmonary hypertension.Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the effect of barberry fruit, on monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension.Materials and methods: Nine groups were arranged as follows: the control group, the monocrotaline (M) group, the barberry groups with doses of 50, 100, and 200 (mg/kg), the M plus barberry groups, and the M plus sildenafil group. Two weeks after a single injection of monocrotaline (60 mg/kg, s.c.), barberry water extracts or sildenafil (30 mg/kg/d) were gavaged daily for 2 weeks. At the end of the 4th week, hemodynamic, biochemical, and histopathological parameters were assessed.Results: In comparison with the M group, barberry (200 mg/kg) or sildenafil significantly reduced the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) (22.95 ± 1.78 mm Hg and 30.71 ± 1.64 mm Hg, versus 41.28 ± 1.5 mm Hg), right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) (0.39 ± 0.03 and 0.42 ± 0.02, versus 0.57 ± 0.02), and the medial wall thickness (MWT) (4.56 ± 0.15 µm and 5.97 ± 0.19 µm, versus 7.02 ± 0.43 µm). Barberry or sildenafil had no significant effect on the plasma level of endothelin-1, glutathione peroxidase, and the malondialdehide of lung.Conclusion: 200 mg/kg of barberry has an improving effect on the monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. This effect was stronger than that of the sildenafil's and may have been mediated through mechanisms other than the modulation of the endothelin-1 or redox system.

The survey of antioxidant properties of phenolic compounds in fresh and dry hybrid Barberry fruits (Berberis integerrima× vulgaris)

Abstract. Berberis (Barberry) belongs to the family Berberidaceae and its use in traditional medicine has a long history. This plant is native to America and Europe and can be found in abundance in Iran. This research aims to assess and compare total phenolic and flavonoid content and measure antioxidant activity with DPPH radical scavenging and to measure Fe reduction capacity in aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extract of fresh and dried fruits of hybrid barberry Integerrima × Vulgaris . Total phenol and flavonoid content was measured by spectrophotometry and antioxidant activity of extracts using free radical DPPH and Fe reduction with FRAP assay. Maximum amount of phenol (59.57±0.83 mg of gallic acid/10 g barberry) was seen in aqueous extract of dried fruits while highest flavonoid content (1.93±0.03 mg of quercetin/10 g barberry) and DPPH radical scavenging activity (44.62±0.99) was observed in methanolic extract of fresh barberry and maximum Fe reduction level with FRAP (18.15±0.84) in ethanolic extract of dried of barberry. Results showed that barberry is a rich source of antioxidant compounds having significant antioxidant activity.

Barberry fruit extract assisted in situ green synthesis of Cu nanoparticles supported on a reduced graphene oxide–Fe3O4nanocomposite as a magnetically separable and reusable catalyst for the O-arylation of phenols with aryl halides under ligand-free conditions

In situsynthesis of copper nanoparticles (NPs) supported on a reduced graphene oxide (RGO)–Fe3O4nanocomposite was carried out with barberry fruit extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent.

Alterations of Blood Pressure and ECG following Two-Week Consumption of Berberis integerrima Fruit Extract.

In light of the popularity and also the various nutritional and medicinal properties of Berberis integerrima, this study was conducted to assess the influence of its aqueous extract on hemodynamic and electrocardiogram (ECG) indices of rat. Animals were divided to control (CTL), B50, B100, and B200 groups that orally received tap water, aqueous extracts of B. integerrima fruit 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/day, respectively, for two weeks and on day 15, data were recorded. Different doses of barberry fruit extract had no significant effect on blood pressure, heart rate, RR interval, P duration, and Q wave amplitude of electrocardiogram. Extract administration was associated with an incremental trend in PR interval that was not statistically significant. Higher doses (100 and 200 mg/kg) of extract significantly increased the QRS interval (P < 0.01 versus CTL and B50 groups) but decreased the QTc interval (P < 0.01 versus CTL group and P < 0.001 versus B50 group), the JT interval, and TpTe interval (P < 0.001 versus CTL and B50 groups). The results suggest that high doses of barberry extract definitely prolong the depolarization phase and shorten the repolarization phase of ventricular muscle and hence induce alteration in heart electrical conductivity.

Ethylene responses and quality of antioxidant-rich stored barberry fruit (Berberis microphylla)

In recent years there has been renewed interest in locally grown and underutilized wild species as sources of bioactive compounds. Barberry (Berberis microphylla G. Forst) is among the southernmost growing fruit bearing species worldwide. The aim of this study was to characterize this species. We evaluated the antioxidant capacity of ripe barberry fruits as compared to pear, orange, apple, strawberry and blueberry. In a second set of experiments ripe barberry fruit was harvested and treated with ethylene and 1-MCP and the changes in ethylene production and respiration rate during storage were assessed. Finally, ripe barberries were harvested and stored at 0, 5 or 10°C for 0, 3, 7, 11 or 15 days. During this period we determined weight loss, respiration rate, the percentage of rotten and physiologically decayed berries, firmness, sugar content, acidity, pH, anthocyanins, phenolics and antiradical capacity. Barberries showed 10-fold higher antioxidant capacity than apple, orange and pear and superseded four times that of antioxidant-rich fruits such as blueberry. 1-MCP treatments increased ethylene production suggesting that the hormone auto inhibits it biosynthesis. The fruit stored best at 0°C and this should be the recommended temperature to minimize deterioration and prevent losses of bio-active compounds. The fruits show a non-climacteric physiology, with ethylene biosynthesis being under negative feedback control. Barberries are an extraordinary high source of antioxidants among fruits.

Some Physicochemical Characteristics, Bioactive Content and Antioxidant Characteristics of Non-Sprayed Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) Fruits from Turkey

Increasing consumer demands for indigenous, non-sprayed with pesticides and less-known or “forgotten” fruits necessitate knowledge on their breeding, cultivation, biochemical content, harvesting and marketing. Anatolia is rich for wild edible fruit species and barberry is abundant throughout Anatolia. The aim of this study was to determine some important physicochemical characteristics, bioactive content and antioxidant capacity of fruits from nineteen promising barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) genotypes grown in the Coruh valley, Northeastern Anatolia. The results indicated genotype-specific differences for most of the physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity and the content of some bioactive compounds. Fruit mass ranged from 0.073 (‘Coruh-7’) to 0.267 g (‘Coruh-11’). Total phenolic content ranged from 2532 (‘Coruh-’) to 3719 mg GAE per liter fruit juice (‘Coruh-11’). The genotype ‘Coruh-12’ had the highest total monomeric anthocyanin content (1004 mg per liter fruit juice) as cyanidin-3-glucoside. The highest total antioxidant capacity was observed in fruits of ‘Coruh-8’ and ‘Coruh-9’ genotypes with all three antioxidant-determining methods. We conclude that the barberry fruits represent a good source of bioactive phytochemicals because of their high phenolic and anthocyanin contents.

Contamination of barberry with heavy metals in the vicinity of Qayen Cement Company, Khorasan, Iran, in 2014: A Case study

Background Soil pollution and accumulation of heavy metals in crops in industrial areas is one of the most important environmental issues threatening the life of plants, animals, and humans. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of Cr and Cd in the soil and barberry plants in farms surrounding the Qayen Cement Company, South Khorasan Province, Iran.Materials And Methods In this study, 8 soil samples were collected from a depth of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm and 4 samples of barberry plant containing fruits and leaves in summer 2014. The concentrations of Cr and Cd in the samples were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry.Results The maximum concentration of Cr and Cd was observed in the soil sample collected from a depth of 0-30 cm (95.10 and 1.32 mg/kg of soil, respectively). The concentration of Cr and Cd was higher in the fruits of barberry than the leaves; 18.58 mg/kg and 59.45 µg/kg, respectively, which are higher than the standard values. Transfer factor was calculated as less than 1 for all stations.Conclusions According to obtained results, Qayen Cement Company has the greatest impact on plants in this region. The barberry fruit is the strategic product in Qayen; therefore, attention to and management of the impact of the cement factory on agricultural products is necessary.

Berberis Fruit Extract and Biochemical Parameters in Patients With Type II Diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus is a common medical problem. There is in fact a growing body of literature on plants used for the treatment of diabetes. Plant materials attracted considerable interest of scientists. In this respect, in the past few years, attempts were made to use natural plant products for the treatment of patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Berberis fruit extract to achieve glycemic control in patients with Type II diabetes. This study was performed between July 2010 and April 2013. Thirty patients of type II diabetes admitted to Ayatollah Rohhani hospital were recruited. Patients' sera were collected for the assessment of glucose and HbA1c values. Biochemical analyses were performed before and after treatment by Berberis fruit extract. Biochemical parameters were measured by spectrophotometric method (Jenway uv/vis, 6505 model, Dunmow, UK). Glucose level was measured by glucose oxidase method kit (Pars Azmoon, Tehran, IR Iran). Serum total cholesterol and triglycerides were measured using standard biochemical kits (Pars Azmoon, Tehran, Iran). Blood glycated hemoglobin level was measured by using Elisa kit (Bioassay technology laboratory, Elisa kit). Experiments were performed in triplicate in at least three separate experiments. Our findings demonstrated that patients with type 2 diabetes who received barberry fruit had significant reduction in serum glucose to 136.15 ± 32.8 mg/dL and decreased HbA1c levels to 7.07 ± 1.21 mg/dL, during the 8 weeks of study. This investigation revealed that Berberis fruit extract has beneficial metabolic effects in patients with type II diabetes. Barberry may improve glucose catabolism via glycolysis pathway, stimulate insulin secretion or improve insulin function and finally decrease glucose uptake. Our results indicated that Berberis fruit regulates glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Characterization of indigenous barberry germplasm in Pakistan: variability in morphological characteristics and nutritional composition

Introduction . Barberry (Berberis aristata DC.), a small fruit, is found growing in the wild in the temperate region of northern Pakistan. Materials and methods . Three different locations of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, i.e ., Topa, Banjosa and Neriyan Sharif, were explored; thirty accessions of barberry were identified and characterized on the basis of their growth habit, flowering, fruiting and chemical composition of fruits. Results . The accessions exhibited high diversity in their phenotypical/morphological traits such as growth habit, intensity and time of flowering, fruit setting, ripening time, productivity, and fruit shape and color. The location had a great impact on quantitative parameters. Accessions collected from Neriyan Sharif had significantly greater plant height, higher number of branches per plant, extended flowering duration (days), took more time to maturity (days) and had high fruit setting (%), while those from Topa had large-sized leaves and fruits with greater average fruit weight. The nutritional composition of fruits indicated that the accessions from Topa had higher carbohydrate, ash, total soluble solids and Mn contents, with significantly higher juice pH, and lower acidity; while the accessions from Neriyan Sharif had significantly higher moisture, protein, fat, fiber, K, Ca, Na, Fe, Cu, Pb and Cr contents and were highly acidic. The accessions collected from Banjosa were almost intermediate for the quantitative characteristics studied. Conclusions . The results suggested that not only the genotype but its growing location as well are the main factors that determine the growing habit, productivity and nutritional composition of barberry fruits, and this ultimately provides important information on how to make the best use of them.

Thin Layer Modeling of the Convective Drying of Barberry Fruit (&lt;em&gt;Berberis vulgaris&lt;/em&gt;)

In this study, the drying kinetics of seedless barberry fruit was studied at 55, 65 and 75˚C air temperatures and 1±0.2 m/s air velocity in a laboratory thin layer dryer with forced convection. Samples were subjected to two different pretreatments (citric acid and vapor). The drying of seedless barberry fruit took place in the falling rate drying period. Ten thin layer-drying models were fitted to the experimental moisture ratio. Compared with other models the Midilli <em>et al</em>. (2002) drying model was found to satisfactorily describe the drying curves of barberry with highest amounts of coefficient of determination (r²) and lowest amounts of reduced chi-square(x²), Mean Bias Error (MBE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The effective moisture diffusivity (D_eff) of barberry increased as the drying air temperature increased. An Arrhenius relation with activation energy values of 45.577 kJ/mol (citric acid pretreatment) expressed the effect of temperature on the diffusivity.

Vacuum Drying of Barberry Fruit (&lt;em&gt;Berberis vulgaris&lt;/em&gt;) and Selection of a Suitable Thin Layer Drying Model

In an investigation on kinetics of seedless barberry drying at 35, 45 and 55°C in vacuum and with water vapor and citric acid pre-treatments, the value of effective moisture Diffusivity (D_eff) was calculated using the second Fick's diffusion equation, activation energy was determined and drying process was simulated by 10 common mathematical equations of thin layer-drying models. Results which were obtained from regression analysis of studied models showed that approximation of diffusion model had the best fitting for vacuum-drying of barberries through available data. Drying barberry took place in the falling rate drying period and pre-treated samples had higher drying rate. The effective diffusivity coefficient for vacuum-drying of barberry fruits was evaluated between 0.0228×10^-10 and 0.2538×10^-10 m²/s, which increased along with temperature rise. An Arrhenius equation for drying of seedless barberry with activation energy values ranged from 27.618 to 92.493 kJ/mol expressed the effect of temperature on moisture diffusivity.

Japanese barberry seed predation by Rhagoletis meigenii fruit flies harboring Wolbachia endosymbionts

The phytophagous fruit fly Rhagoletis meigenii harbors the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis and, together with Japanese barberry, form a tri-partite symbiosis. R. meigenii is a seed predator of invasive Japanese barberry plants and is dependent on this insect-plant interaction for reproductive success. The endosymbiotic bacterium W. pipientis is a reproductive parasite known to alter the sex ratios of offspring and the fitness of infected host insects. We investigated Japanese barberry fruit for the degree of infestation by R. meigenii and characterized the Wolbachia strain infecting R. meigenii. Densities of R. meigenii in four naturalized stands of Japanese barberry revealed low numbers of fruit flies with high variability in the population densities observed among individual plants. Overall, R. meigenii infested roughly 10–20 % of the Japanese barberry fruits analyzed; fruit with two seeds (vs. one seed) were the most frequently infested. Approximately, 90 % of the R. meigenii tested positive for Wolbachia infection via PCR amplification of the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. No bacterial strain diversity was observed when comparing multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) profiles within or among five R. meigenii populations in Maine, although the MLST profile obtained from R. meigenii differed from three co-occurring Rhagoletis. The Wolbachia endosymbiont of R. meigenii is a member of the Wolbachia supergroup A and the ST-13 cluster complex.

Antioxidant capacity and chemical properties of selected barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) fruits

Six purple-black barberry accessions (Berberis vulgaris L.) were obtained from various sites in Sivas province of Turkey. Fruits were analyzed for their total phenolic (TP), total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) contents and for their antioxidant capacity by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and TEAC assays. Sugar and organic acid composition were also determined by HPLC. TP and TMA contents were measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and pH differential methods, respectively. Variability between the accessions was not high. Variability among accessions was greatest for FRAP content (C.V. 17.9%); individuals ranged from 41.0 to 65.6 μmol TE·g−1 on a fresh weight basis. Variation among the accessions was also evident for TP, TMA, and TEAC values (C.V. 16.21%, 14.85%, and 7.13%, respectively). The major sugars of barberry fruits were glucose (8.84 g·100 mL−1) and fructose (6.12 g·100 mL−1) and dominant organic acids were malic (7.59 g·100 mL−1) and citric (1.34 g·100 mL−1). Within this limited study of six different accessions, chemical profile and antioxidant capacity of barberry fruits have rich source of natural antioxidant substances.

Effects of harvest date, harvest time, and post-harvest management on quantitative and qualitative traits in seedless barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.)

Seedless barberry is a native medicinal shrub that has been cultivated in Iran for more than two centuries. In order to study the effects of harvest dates, harvest times-of-day, drying and harvest methods on quantity and quality of seedless barberry fruits, three separate experiments were conducted in Soorand, Southern Khorasan province, Iran in 2008 and 2010. In the first experiment the effects of different harvest dates (9 September, 1 October, 22 October and 13 November), in the second experiment five harvest times-of-day (07.00, 10.00, 13.00, 16.00 and 19.00 O’clock) at two dates of harvest (16 September and 17 October) and finally in the third study the effect of picking methods (branch cutting and berry picking) and drying methods (sun drying and shade drying) were studied on quantitative and qualitative indices of seedless barberry. Results showed that the highest fresh and dry fruit yields were obtained at the final harvest date (13 November) in the first experiment. Moreover, the brix, pH and anthocyanin fruit content were increased but total titratable acidity was decreased by delaying in harvest date. Qualitative indices of seedless barberry were in maximum values before sunrise, then were decreased until noon and after that were increased until sunset. The maximum and minimum brix values were obtained at 07.00 and 10.00 (12.7% and 9.7%, respectively). In addition, the highest maturity index and anthocyanin fruit content (mg/100g dry berries) were obtained at 7.00 (3.40 and 128.5, respectively) and the lowest values of these indices were observed at 10.00 (3.03 and 83, respectively). The maximum value of brix (9.8%), total titratable acidity (3.5%), maturity index (2.8) and anthocyanin fruit content (63.5mg/100g dry berries) were observed in berry picking method. Moreover, the highest brix value (9.8%), total titratable acidity (3.6%), maturity index (2.7) and anthocyanin fruit content (72.5mg/100g dry berries) were obtained in the sun drying method. Generally, results of these experiments showed that berry picking in cool hours during the day and sun drying method are effective ways for improving barberry qualitative indices.

Effect of barberry fruit (Berberis vulgaris) on serum glucose and lipids in streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Summary Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is used in traditional medicine for a number of diseases including diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of aqueous extract of Berberis vulgaris fruit in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The animal s were rendered diabetic by a single intraperitoneal injection of 60mg/kg streptozotocin. Rats received the barberry fruit extract daily in drinking water containing 3.5% and 7.5% from a 100mg/ml of the initial extract, since the day after diabetes confirmation for 6 weeks. The blood glucose and lipids were spectrophotometrically measured in all groups at weeks 0, 3 and 6. The results showed that the aqueous extract of Berberis vulgaris fruit at amounts of 3.5 and 7.5% of drinking water did not possess the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity in streptozotocindiabetic rats during 6-week treatment period. There fore, the usage of barberry fruit in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes may need more investigation.

Effect of harvesting and drying methods of seedless barberry on some fruit quality

Barberry species ( Berberis vulgaris L. var. asperma) is cultivated in arid and semi arid areas of Iran (Southern Khorasan) and it is widely used as a food additive. Harvesting time awareness and proper drying and harvesting methods can cause higher production quality and enhance the position of this fruit in internal and global markets. Barberry trees were harvested at different methods (branch-cutting, cluster picking and impact force) and times (mid September-late October-mid November) as well as barberry fruits were dried with different methods (shade-drying, sun-drying and industrial-drying) in order to study their effect on achieve optimal production conditions and production quality. The results showed that the bulk density of dried barberry as the criteria for puffy barberry fruits was affected by harvesting and drying methods. Branch-cut harvesting method led to yield production with the lowest bulk density (rate of 214.86 kg/m 3) and thus causing more puffy fruits. Colorimetric parameter A that shows the redness of barberry fruits had the lowest rate in sun-drying method and first harvest date, and the highest rate in shade-drying method and third harvest date. The result also, shows that the sun-drying and industrial method caused damage to barberry pigments (color quality of production is reduced). This also was confirmed via the results of sensory tests, and the Panelists gave the most points to the taken samples during the second harvest date in cluster-picking approach and the shade-drying method. The lowest scores of the Panelists were belonged to the samples taken with impact force and the first harvest date in sun-drying approach.

SOME PHYSICOMECHANICAL AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF BARBERRY (BERBERIS VULGARIS L.) FRUITS

ABSTRACT The barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) fruits growing wild in Turkey were analyzed for some physical (dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, bulk density, fruit density, volume, terminal velocity, hardness and porosity) and chemical (moisture, reducing sugar, ascorbic acid, total anthocyanin and phenolics, crude protein, crude oil, crude energy, crude fiber, ash, pH, acidity, alcohol‐soluble extract and color) properties. Mineral content of barberry fruits growing wild in Turkey was determined by inductively coupled plasma‐atomic emission spectrometry. The average pulp mass ratio, thickness, width, length, mass, volume, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and projected area were measured as 75.59%, 3.51 mm, 3.32 mm, 7.69 mm, 0.07 g, 71 mm3, 4.46 mm, and 0.58 and 0.2535 cm2, respectively. The energy, reducing sugar, protein, cellulose, oil, ash, acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, total anthocyanin and soluble solid matter values of barberry fruits were established as 69.25 kcal/g, 6.52%, 10.32%, 9.42%, 0.84%, 1.12%, 3.10%, 256.48 mg/kg, 789.32 mg/100 g, 931.05 mg/kg and 19.4%, respectively. It is very important to evaluate the technological properties of equipment used in harvesting, transportation, storage and processing of fresh fruits. Also, the information supplied on the proximate composition of the barberry fruit is highly beneficial for human nutrition.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe chemical properties such as ascorbic acid, anthocyanin and phenolic compounds, reducing sugar, crude protein, crude fiber, crude oil, ash and mineral contents of barberry fruits are mostly important for human nutrition and processing. In addition, it is very important to establish the physical properties of equipment used in harvesting, transportation, storage and processing of fresh fruits. However, further studies are necessary to understand the physical properties for equipment design and to provide necessary information for the use of wild edible fruits.