Passion Fruit Research Articles

Relações entre variáveis do maracujá amarelo e roxo

ABSTRACT Brazil is the world’s largest producer of passion fruit, with the species Passiflora edulis Sims (yellow and purple passion fruit) being the most popular commercially. Due to the great economic importance of this culture, seeking high productivity, phytotechnical quality, and maintenance of existing germplasms, among others, it is necessary to carry out studies of the most diverse types of this culture. In this crop, the use of multivariate techniques has increasingly driven studies on genetic differences between passion fruit species. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the variables that deserve greater emphasis in experiments with two commercial species of Passiflora: Passiflora edulis Sims f. edulis (purple passion fruit) and Passiflora edulis Sims (yellow passion fruit), verifying if the species differ from each other. For this purpose, principal component analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and Hotelling’s T2 test were performed. The principal component analysis proved to be effective, allowing the removal of five variables for yellow passion fruit and six variables for purple passion fruit and yellow passion fruit present contrasting differences between them, being the explanatory variables for the purple passion fruit the external and internal color and for the yellow passion fruit length, diameter, and citric acid.

TaqMan real-time RT-PCR for detection of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus and epidemiological aspects of passion fruit woodiness disease

TaqMan real-time RT-PCR for detection of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus and epidemiological aspects of passion fruit woodiness disease

Impact of thermosonication treatment on passion fruit juice: ANN/GA optimization, predictive modelling for shelf life and quality changes during storage

Abstract Optimized sugar-added passion fruit juice (OPFJ) was obtained after optimization of thermosonication treatments of passion fruit juice using hybrid Artificial neural network/Genetic algorithm. The quality parameters and shelf life of OPFJ stored at various temperatures were assessed. Baranyi and Ratkowsky’s square-root models proved the prediction accuracy of the theoretical model concerning the microbial population during storage. The lag phase value decreased with increasing storage temperature. Temperature rise from 8 to 25 °C decreased the shelf life from 17 to 8 days for OPFJ and 3.5 to 1.5 days for untreated juice. The activation energy and increase in the reaction rate on increase in temperature by 10 °C (Q 10 value) were also evaluated. Thermosonication increased the phenolic and β-carotene contents and maintained the pH, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, and antioxidant activity during storage. Thermosonication enhanced the quality and shelf life of juice. Predictive modelling effectively predicted the shelf life.

First Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum plurivorum on Passion fruit in Guangxi, China.

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) is popular for its rich taste and nutritional value. The planting area of passion fruit in Guangxi has reached 24,300 ha, with an annual output of 380,000 t (Qian 2023). In March 2023, leave spots on more than half of the plants (cv. Qinmi "NO.9"). Moreover, the incidence of disease on the leaves was approximately 20% in Shabu Town, Qinnan District, Qinzhou City, Guangxi, China (N20˚54'-22˚41', E107˚27'-109˚56'). Leaf diseases were orbicular or irregular in shape, white, whitish-grey, yellowish, or gray in color. When leaves were severely affected, larger blotches were formed with yellow halos. For pathogen isolation, three diseased leaf samples were collected from three gardens, respectively, and 5×5 mm tissues were cut from infected margins, surface-disinfected in 75% ethanol for 15 s, followed by 2% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, rinsed three times with sterile water, and incubated on PDA at 25°C under 12/12 h light/darkness. After 5 days, ninety cultures were isolated, sixty isolates with similar morphology were retained, and three representative isolates BY-1, BY-2, and BY-4 were randomly selected for further study. On PDA, colonies of the three isolates displayed white or grayish-white. Conidia were single-celled, hyaline, and cylindrical, measuring 17.3±1.5 × 6.3±0.7 μm, 17.8±1.7 × 6.0±0.6 μm, and 16.3±1.4 × 6.4±0.6 μm (n=90) for BY-1, BY-2, and BY-4, respectively. Appressoria were single, brown or black, and irregular in shape, measuring 10.2±1.1×6.5±0.5 μm, 10.5±1.3×7.3±0.6, and 10.9±0.8×7.0±0.8 (n=90) for BY-1, BY-2, and BY-4, respectively. These morphological characteristics were similar to Colletotrichum spp. as previously described (Damm et al. 2019). The isolates were further identified by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-ITS1/ITS4), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH-GDF/GDR), actin (ACT-512F/783R), partial sequences of the chitin synthase 1 (CHS-1-79F/354R), and beta-tubulin 2 (TUB2-T1/Bt2b) (Zhang et al. 2023). All sequences were deposited in GenBank (ITS: OR741759 to OR741761, GAPDH: OR767654 to OR767656, ACT: OR767657 to OR767659, CHS-1: OR767660 to OR767662, TUB2: OR767651 to OR767653). A phylogenetic tree was built with RAxML version 8.2.10 based on concatenated sequences of ITS-GAPDH-ACT-CHS-1-TUB2. The results revealed that the three isolates clustered with C. plurivorum. To confirm the pathogenicity of the three isolates, attached leaves of healthy 5-month-old passion fruit plants were injured in the middle region with sterile toothpicks and inoculated with 20 μL of spore suspension (106 conidia/mL), and the noninoculated control received 0.05% Tween-20 (6 leaves/plant, 3 plants/treatment). The inoculated plants were kept in a greenhouse at 25°C and covered with plastic bags to maintain high humidity. After 9 days, all inoculated leaves were symptomatic, whereas no symptoms were observed in the control. C. plurivorum was reisolated from infected leaves, confirming Koch's postulates. C. plurivorum has been reported to infect Abelmoschus esculentus (Batista et al. 2020) and Carya illinoinensis in China (Zhang et al. 2023). However, this is the first report of anthracnose caused by C. plurivorum on passion fruit in China. The results can provide a robust basis for scientific prevention and control of anthracnose.

Cassava Starch-Based Multifunctional Coating Incorporated with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle to Enhance the Shelf Life of Passion Fruit

Passion fruits are susceptible to numerous postharvest challenges including weight loss, ethylene production, peel shrinkage, microbial growth, and pulp liquefaction. To mitigate these issues, yellow passion fruits were treated with hydroxypropyl cassava starch zinc oxide (HCS-ZnO) nanoparticles at varying concentrations. Fruits were stored at 10°C for 42 days, and the treated fruits underwent periodic assessments for weight loss, electrical conductivity, reducing sugar, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity, and peel color. The results showed that a 0.8% HCS-ZnO nanoparticle coating could significantly reduce the weight loss of passion fruit during storage. However, compared to other treatments, a 0.2% HCS-ZnO nanoparticle coating demonstrated superior preservation of physicochemical properties, delayed discoloration, slowed ripening, maintained cell membrane integrity (electrical conductivity 1337 μs/cm), and reduced nutrient loss (titrable acidity 3.35 g/100 mL, TSS 17.9%, reducing sugar 5.1 g/100 g) at 42 days of storage. This innovative approach holds promise for commercial application, offering a sustainable solution to mitigate postharvest losses of passion fruit. The study underscores the potential of HCS-ZnO nanoparticles as effective coatings to uphold fruit quality and extend shelf life, presenting compelling insights for future fruit preservation strategies.

Effect of Light and GA3 on Germination of Purple Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) Seeds

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of light and GA3 on the germination of purple passion fruit (Passiflora edulis sims) under agro climatic condition of Prayagraj. The perforated polythene bags of 4 x 5 cm size (150 gauges thickness) were used for sowing. The bags were filled with a mixture of farmyard manure (FYM), sand and soil in the ratio of 1:1:1. Pre-sowing-dip method was adopted for seed treatment.The treatments included application of [T0: Shade net(light 20,100), T1: GA3 200 ppm + light 24,500 lux,T2:GA3 200 ppm + light 30,100 lux,T3: GA3 250 ppm + light 24,500 lux,T4:GA3 250 ppm + light 30,100 lux, T5: GA3 300 ppm + light 24,500 lux,T6: GA3 300 ppm + light 30,100 lux,T7:GA3 350 ppm + light 24,500 lux, T8: GA3 350 ppm + light 30,100 lux]. The experiment was laid in randomized block design with nine treatments and was replicated three times. Treatment T8 performed best in term day to 1st germination(20.01), day to 50% germination(26.68), day to complete germination(35.25),germination percentage(89.09), seed vigour index (1400.48),seedling height(10,20,30,40 days) (10.37,11.50,13.69,16.25), number of leaves (10,20,30,40 days) (3.00,4.78,6.22,9.45), shoot length (10,20,30,40 days) (4.68,4.97, 5.05,5.20), root length(10.66), shoot: root(0.62),stem girth(2.70),chlorophyll content (43.37) and survivality percentage(83.65).

In vitro simulated digestion and fermentation characteristics of pectic polysaccharides from fresh passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa L.) peel

In this study, two pectic polysaccharides (PFP-T and PFP-UM) were extracted from fresh passion fruit peels using three-phase partitioning (TPP) and sequential ultrasound-microwave-assisted TPP methods, respectively, and their effects on the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and fecal fermentation characteristics were examined. The results indicate that gastrointestinal digestion has a minimal effect on the physicochemical and structural characteristics of PFP-T and PFP-UM. However, during in vitro fecal fermentation, both undigested PFP-T and PFP-UM are significantly degraded and utilized by intestinal microorganisms, showing increased the total relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota in the intestinal flora. Notably, compared with PFP-UM, PFP-T better promoted the reproduction of beneficial bacteria such as Prevotella, Megasphaera and Dialister, while suppressed the growth of harmful genera including Escherichia-Shigella, producing higher content of short-chain fatty acids. Therefore, our findings suggest that PFP-T derived from passion fruit peel has potential as a dietary supplement for promoting intestinal health.

Passiflora nitida Kunth fruit: Chemical analysis, antioxidant capacity, and cytotoxicity

Passiflora nitida is a fruit-bearing species native to the Amazon region, considered an unconventional food plant, with its fruit commonly known as wild passion fruit. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant properties, chemical profile, phenolic composition, and cytotoxicity of pulps and teas based on the pulp of P. nitida, contributing to the exploration of this species. This study provides important information about the chemical composition, which will contribute to the development of products based on wild passion fruit. The production of nonalcoholic beverages from the pulp with seeds is a viable alternative for utilizing the fruits with greater results, potentially offering a product with higher bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity compared to seedless pulp. Moreover, P. nitida seed tea may constitute a significant source of nutrients for human consumption.

First Report of Alternaria gossypina Causing Stem Base Rot on Passilora edulis in Guangxi, China.

Passion fruit (Passilora edulis), known as the "king of fruit juices", is popular in southern China (Yuan et al. 2019). Stem base rot is a devastating disease of passion fruit commonly caused by several Fusarium spp. (Zakaria, 2022). In July 2022, typical symptoms of stem base rot were observed in a poorly managed "Qinmi No. 9" Golden passion fruit orchard in Jingxi (23°13'10"N, 106°5'23"E). The disease incidence had reached 40% (n=200) in the survey. Symptoms included ulceration and mutilation at the stem base, making the plants prone to breakage when pulled, wilting and drooping leaves above ground, and severe cases leading to the entire plant withering and dying. Fourteen plants with obvious symptoms were collected. Thin sections of plant tissue were cut from junction of sickness and health of stem, sterilized with ethanol and sodium hypochlorite, and placed on PDA medium at 28°C. Sixty fungal strains were obtained, 90% of which was identified as Fusarium based on morphology. 80% of Fusarium were F. oxysporum species complex (FOSC), but pathogenicity experiment showed all FOSC were weakly pathogenic. However, two severely pathogenic fungi with similar morphology but distinct from Fusarium were identified from the same plant. The representative strain C11 was selected for further study. C11 demonstrated a rapid growth rate, reaching a 90 mm diameter colony on PDA cultured at 25°C for 7 days. The colony displaced a round, flat shape with an overall light brown front, and cottony gray or light brown mycelium, while the reverse side was dark brown. Conidia production was observed as typically occurred in multiple chains after 14 days culture on OA medium, with round, oval or straight rod-like brown conidia ranging in size from 5.74-23.42×14.67-67.22, featuring 1-8 transverse septa and 0-3 mediastinum (Figure S1). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS, OR616614), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF, OR633298), alternaria major allergen (Alt a1, OR633294) gene, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, OR633295), RNA polymerase subunit II gene (RPB2, OR633297), 18S Small subunit rDNA (SSU, OR616608) , 28S Large Subunit rDNA (LSU, OR616615), the KOG1058 gene regions (OR633296) and an approximately segment of the anonymous noncoding region (OPA10-2, OR633299) were amplified from C11 (Liu et al. 1999, Li et al. 2023, Andrew et al. 2009), and deposited in GenBank with accession number shown in the brackets. Phylogenetic trees were constructed in MEGA11 after splicing by BioEdit (Figure S3). Combining morphology and molecular analyses, C11 was identified as Alternaria gossypina (Woudenberg et al. 2015). To test the pathogenicity, the base of the seedling stem (20cm in height) of 50 healthy "Tainong No. 1" variety of purple passion fruit, which was more susceptible to stem-base rot, was puncture wound with needles, inoculated with 6 mm diameter colonies of fungi, and then wrapped in wet cotton (Ángel et al. 2018). Ten healthy seedlings inoculated with PDA were used as controls. These plants were cultured in an artificial greenhouse at 30±5℃with 80±5% humidity. After 15 days, the plants inoculated with C11 exhibited symptoms similar to those in the field, whereas the controls remained healthy. A. gossypina was reisolated from the diseased plant stems, with the morphology and GAPDH sequence consistent with the inoculated (Figure S1, S2). This is the first report of passion fruit stem rot caused by A. gossypina. This finding will aid in the prevention and control of stem rot in passion fruit.

Frost Damage Grade Index and Risk Regionalization of the Main Cultivars of Passion Fruit in Fujian Province

Frost Damage Grade Index and Risk Regionalization of the Main Cultivars of Passion Fruit in Fujian Province

The impact of passion fruit peel powder on the physicochemical, sensory properties, and antioxidant activity of goat milk yoghurt

SummaryThere is significant economic potential in reusing passion fruit peel as an industrial by‐product, and there has been enthusiasm for creating new goat milk yoghurt (GMY) products. Consequently, a thorough investigation regarding the impact of passion fruit peel on fermented GMY is crucial for the advancement of new food products. This study aimed to assess the impact of passion fruit peel powder (PFPP) on the quality characteristics, sensory properties, and antioxidant activity of GMY during storage. Six GMY formulations were prepared by varying the amount of PFPP addition (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5%). The results revealed that several characteristics of GMY were positively affected by the addition of PFPP, including the acidity, rheology, and texture property of the samples. It was observed that GMY with 1.0% addition of PFPP exhibited improved taste, flavour, and colour. Additionally, the total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and antioxidant properties of GMY with PFPP were significantly increased across all levels. The results obtained from this study demonstrate that PFPP has the potential to be utilised in GMY to optimise the benefits of products with high antioxidant activity.

Utilization of passion fruit (Passiflora cincinnata Mast.) peel flour in sweet preparation

Utilization of passion fruit (Passiflora cincinnata Mast.) peel flour in sweet preparation

Passion fruit by-products (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) as a potential fat replacer in ice cream.

In recent years, people have become interested in consuming low-fat foods as this reduces the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. For this reason, this study optimized the incorporation of passion fruit epicarp (PFE) as a partial fat substitute in dairy ice cream. For this purpose, a central composite rotational design 22 was performed and 5 response variables were optimized, of which 4 variables were maximized (percentage overrun, hardness, adhesiveness, and color coordinates L*, a*, b*), while the melting rate was minimized as a function of two factors (% PFE and % fat). The stability of three types of ice cream was then evaluated: experimental ice cream (3% milk fat and 0.97% PFE), commercial ice cream (4% milk fat and 2% vegetable fat) and control ice cream (3% milk fat without PFE added), according to their physicochemical and sensory properties during 57 days of storage (-22 °C, 85% relative humidity). The results showed that it was possible to reduce the milk fat by up to 25% by adding PFE (0.97%), which significantly reduced the melting rate and resulted in higher hardness (N), adhesiveness and increased yellowness compared to the commercial samples. The optical microscopy analysis also showed that PFE keeps the air bubbles immobile due to the increased viscosity in the serum phase during the 57-day storage.

Passion Fruit Seed Oil: A Sustainable Feedstock for Additive Manufacturing of Renewable Polymers

Passion Fruit Seed Oil: A Sustainable Feedstock for Additive Manufacturing of Renewable Polymers

Revealing the crucial role of cuticular wax components in postharvest water loss in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.)

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) is highly prone to water loss and shrinkage after harvesting. The fruit cuticle serves as a crucial barrier to prevent non-stomatal water loss. However, the impact of cuticle on water loss in passion fruit remains unclear. Therefore, the present study primarily focuses on the influence of the cuticle on postharvest water loss of passion fruit, specifically emphasizing the changes in cuticular wax components. Our results showed that both the thickness and content of cutin decreased during storage. The degradation of wax components exhibited a similar trend to fruit water loss. At the end of the storage, n-triacontane content was stored at 25 °C retained 2.8% of that at 7 °C. Follwed by stearic acid, palmitate, and so on, with amounts at 25 °C are 9.3% and 13.8% at 7 °C, respectively. Interestingly, the reduction of amides, erucamide and hexadecanamide lead to water loss in fruit. So far as we know, this is the first report demonstrating that cuticle amides influence water loss in fruit. This study provides new insights into the role of cuticle in the water loss of passion fruit.

EVALUATION OF THE BIOSORPTION OF Mn²⁺ AND Zn²⁺ BY PASSION FRUIT PEEL: STUDY OF DOSAGE AND CONTACT TIME

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate he effectiveness of Mn2+ and Zn2+ biosorption by passion fruit peel as a sustainable and economically viable alternative to the biosorption process. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises the characterization of the biomass and batch tests. Tests were carried out with different masses of biomass in standard solutions of the metals investigated. The biosorption capacity of the biomass and the removal efficiency were calculated based on the differences in concentration of the metal ions. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that the biomass showed high efficiency (close to 100%) for both cations. The contact time of 30 minutes was sufficient to reach equilibrium in the biosorption capacity of the metals, indicating the speed and effectiveness of the process. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research provide valuable information on the application of passion fruit peel as a biosorbent in the removal of potentially toxic metals from contaminated wastewater. These results may influence practices in the field of environmental remediation and environmental engineering, as well as in agro-industrial waste management. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the originality of using passion fruit peel in natura as a biosorbent, presenting an innovative and sustainable approach to the remediation of contaminated effluents. The high efficiency of ion removal with low biomass dosages and short contact times adds knowledge to the field of biosorption using agro-industrial waste.

Valorization of Passion and Tamarillo Fruit Waste for Extraction and Characterization of Pectin

Valorization of Passion and Tamarillo Fruit Waste for Extraction and Characterization of Pectin

Establishment of a Virus-Induced Gene-Silencing (VIGS) System in Passiflora edulis Sims and Its Use in the Functional Analysis of PechlH

Passion fruit is a very important tropical and subtropical fruit that not only has a good edible flavour, but also has high ornamental value. However, the functions of important trait genes in passion fruit have been difficult to elucidate due to the difficulty of stable genetic transmission in passion fruit. The VIGS system for the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) has been widely used in a number of crops, but no success has been reported in passion fruit. In this study, we used the PePDS marker gene to unravel the passion fruit VIGS system. The use of albino phenotype observation and quantitative PCR to detect gene expression showed that the PDS albino phenotype was successfully induced in the young leaves of passion fruit seedlings after 7 days, while a significant down-regulation of expression occurred in the phenotypic plants. The albino phenotype can be maintained for 14–16 d. In addition, we chose the chlorophyll-synthesis-related gene PechlH for the VIGS silencing of passion fruit leaves. When the PechlH gene was knocked out, the leaves of the passion fruit lost their green colour and showed yellowing symptoms. This revealed that the PechlH gene was involved in the chloroplast synthesis pathway. Finally, using different OD600 gradients in PePDS, we demonstrated that the silencing efficiency reached 46.70% at an OD600 of 0.8. Thus, an effective and stable VIGS system was achieved in passion fruit. This will help to accelerate the study of gene function in passion fruit in the future.

Flavone-rich Passiflora edulis fruit shells as urease inhibitors for sustainable agricultural solutions

Flavone-rich Passiflora edulis fruit shells as urease inhibitors for sustainable agricultural solutions

A 224-bp Indel in the Promoter of PeMYB114 Accounts for Anthocyanin Accumulation of Skin in Passion Fruit (Passiflora spp.).

Passion fruit (Passiflora spp.) is an important fruit tree in the family Passifloraceae. The color of the fruit skin, a significant agricultural trait, is determined by the content of anthocyanin in passion fruit. However, the regulatory mechanisms behind the accumulation of anthocyanin in different passion fruit skin colors remain unclear. In the study, we identified and characterized a R2R3-MYB transcription factor, PeMYB114, which functions as a transcriptional activator in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Yeast one-hybrid system and dual-luciferase analysis showed that PeMYB114 could directly activate the expression of anthocyanin structural genes (PeCHS and PeDFR). Furthermore, a natural variation in the promoter region of PeMYB114 alters its expression. PeMYB114purple accessions with the 224-bp insertion have a higher anthocyanin level than PeMYB114yellow accessions with the 224-bp deletion. The findings enhance our understanding of anthocyanin accumulation in fruits and provide genetic resources for genome design for improving passion fruit quality.