Medicinal Plants
Ahmad Balandary; Majid Azizi; Mahsa Khodabandeh
Abstract
Introduction
Barberries are small fruits with appealing colors and tastes, and have a great diversity in Iran. There are numerous indigenous barberry genotypes in Iran, which have remarkable therapeutical and nutritional attributes. Seedless barberry is the most famous genotype which fruits are ...
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Introduction
Barberries are small fruits with appealing colors and tastes, and have a great diversity in Iran. There are numerous indigenous barberry genotypes in Iran, which have remarkable therapeutical and nutritional attributes. Seedless barberry is the most famous genotype which fruits are rich in phytochemicals. Although Iran is one of the main habitats of the barberry species and hybrids and the seedless cultivar is considered as an exclusive crop for our country, a few products are being produced from such valuable crop in food industries.
Materials and Methods
In present study, fruit biochemical properties of the twelve barberry genotypes (including one seedless genotype and eleven seedy genotypes: 2-2, 4-1, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 8-3, 10-1, 11-1, 12-1, 13-1 and 14-2) of the barberry collection located in Research Institute of Food Science and Technology of Mashhad, were evaluated based on the fruit appearance. For this purpose, fruits were harvested in 2015 harvest time and divided into two parts. One part was dried in room temperature. Then dried fruits were kept in cool and dark place until analyses. The other part was kept fresh for some measurements including TSS, TA, TSS/TA and pH. Before all tests, fruits were deseeded and the properties of the pulp were determined. Biochemical properties included total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS/TA ratio, fruit juice pH, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, total anthocyanin content, protein content, crude fiber, total sugar and minerals including Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu). Data analysis was performed based on completely randomized design by Minitab software version 16 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and differences among means were determined for significance at p≤0.05 using Tukey’s range test.
Results and Discussion
Results showed significant variation in biochemical properties of genotypes. Based on the results, genotype code #13-1 had the highest content of titratable acidity (5.61 g malic acid per 100 g fresh fruit weight) and the highest soluble solids content (5.5 °Brix). The highest amount of crude fiber (54.96%), Fe (138.49 ppm), Mg (1426.39 ppm) was related to genotype code #10-1 and the highest amount of anthocyanin (452.60 mg/100g), protein (4.26%) and Cu (6.80 ppm) belonged to genotype code #14-2. Two genotypes “Bidaneh” and code #5-3 displayed a distinctive content of total carbohydrates with respectively 59.61% and 25.67%. Furthermore, genotype code #11-1 showed the highest amount of Zn (18.85 ppm) among all.
Conclusion
Up to now, barberry mostly has been consumed as a food seasoning and garnish. All data of this study suggest that barberry, as a functional food, can partially cover the body's daily requirements. Therefore, a comprehensive study should be performed to determine all the capacities and uses associated with each genotype. Overall, genotype code #14-2 can be introduced as the best genotype in terms of flavonoid, anthocyanin, protein and copper content of all the evaluated genotypes. Considering its high content of anthocyanin, producing an edible colorant powder is possible. In conclusion, considering the great diversity, fruits of indigenous barberry genotypes can provide a rich source of minerals and phytochemicals for food purposes. Furthermore, achieving applied science in making products from such indigenous crop could lead into investments and economic development in regions in which barberry is cultivated.
Medicinal Plants
Mahsa Khodabandeh; Majid Azizi; Ahmad Balandary; Hossein Arouiee
Abstract
Introduction
Barberries are a broad class of spiny evergreen or deciduous shrubs belonging to the Berberidaceae family. They are of great importance due to their different parts' nutritional and medicinal properties and their ornamental applications. Genus Berberis, the biggest genus ...
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Introduction
Barberries are a broad class of spiny evergreen or deciduous shrubs belonging to the Berberidaceae family. They are of great importance due to their different parts' nutritional and medicinal properties and their ornamental applications. Genus Berberis, the biggest genus in Berberidaceae, includes more than 660 species. Barberry grows in Asia and Europe and has been used extensively as a medicinal plant in traditional medicine. In Iranian traditional medicine, several properties, such as antibacterial, antipyretic, antipruritic and antiarrhythmic, have been reported with unknown mechanisms of action. Incredible structural diversity among barberries' active components makes them a valuable source of novel therapeutic compounds. Seedless barberry (Berberis integerrima 'Asperma') is one of Iran's valuable indigenous medicinal plants. Common asexual propagation of this plant over the years and consequently low genetic diversity in populations of the seedless barberry restricts selection outcomes in breeding programs. Utilizing the indigenous wild genotypes of the barberry genus, which are easily able to cross-pollinate, is one of the best methods to increase genetic diversity. Accordingly, several wild seedy barberry genotypes were identified from all over Iran, collected and established in a collection in Mashhad; then, 16 genotypes were selected and their physical properties were studied.
Materials and Methods
In this study, ripe fruits of sixteen unique genotypes (i.e., Iranian seedless barberry and fifteen seedy genotypes) were harvested in October- November 2015 and kept in a refrigerator in order to measure some of their physical properties in fresh fruits (berry dimension, 100-berry weight, juice content and color indices). For other properties, fruits were dried at room temperature. Fruit cluster length was measured by means of a ruler, the number of berries/cluster and the number of set/aborted seeds in berry by counting, berry dimensions by a digital caliper, weight of fresh and dried 100-berry, percentage of pulp and seed as well as fruit juice content by a scale with 0.001 accuracy. Moisture content was determined using an oven with 75 ºC temperature for 48 hours. Color indices, including L*, a* and b*, were measured using a portable colorimeter (Konica Minolta Chroma Meters CR-410). This study was performed using a completely randomized design with three replications. Data were analyzed by Minitab software version 16 using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and differences among means were determined for significance at p<0.05 using the Bonferroni test.
Results and Discussion
The results indicated significant differences among genotypes. Based on the results, cluster length ranged between 1.67cm (code 5-3) and 6.29 cm (code 10-1); moisture content was between 8.20% and 11.84% in genotypes 8-3 and 13-2, respectively. The fruit juice content range of the studied genotypes was between 51.22% and 71.87%. Genotype 2-1 had the highest dimension values and the highest 100-berry fresh weight (30.72g) and dry weight (10.00g) fruits. The lowest weights of 100-berry were related to 14-1 and seedless barberry. Genotypes 5-2 had the highest pulp percentage (98.17%) and the lowest seed percentage (1.50%) and 10-1 had the lowest pulp percentage (51.93%) and the highest seed percentage (48.07%). The highest number of set seeds (1.73) and the lowest number of aborted seeds (zero) were found in (10-1) and (14-2), respectively. Based on the results, seedless barberry had the lowest number of set seeds (0.00) and the highest number of aborted seeds (3.27). Regarding fruit color indices, genotypes showed significant variability from orange to brown and dark blue. Color indices L*, a* and b* ranged (from 22.83 to 38.13), (2.31 to 37.76) and (1.18 to 2.28), respectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that all genotypes have considerable variability in fruit traits (color, fruit dimensions, pulp/seed percentage, moisture content, etc.). Based on the result of this study, genotype 5-2 was the most similar genotype to seedless barberry. The seedless barberry populations have low genetic diversity due to asexual propagation through suckers over many years. Indigenous genotypes can be a valuable genetic resource for future breeding programs to improve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of seedless barberry and introduce new cultivars of seedless barberry with different colors and consequently different nutritional- medicinal properties.
