Volume 20, Issue 1, April 2017, Pages 400–410
Jihane Oumato1, Saadia Zrira2, Mohamed Boujnah3, and Bouchta Saidi4
1 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
2 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
3 Laboratory of Agro-Food Technology- National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat, Morocco
4 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2017 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The objective of the present work was to evaluate the changes in morphological and physicochemical characteristics of Moroccan prickly pear cultivars at three different stages of maturity. The results of morphological study showed that the width, length, skin thickness, diameter and depth of receptacle differed significantly depending the cultivars and did not differ significantly depending the maturity. Other parameters such as the weight of the pulp, the skin and the whole fruit differed significantly depending on the cultivars and the maturity; they increased with advance in maturity, while the proportions of skin decreased. For the physicochemical analyzes, the results showed that moisture, pH, Brix, vitamin C, total sugar and fat have a significant difference between the cultivars and maturity; they increased with advance in maturity, while the percentage of fat decreased. However, no important differences were observed in ash, reducing and non -reducing sugars between the stages of ripeness of the fruits.
Author Keywords: Prickly pear, stages of maturity, morphological characteristics, physicochemical analyzes.
Jihane Oumato1, Saadia Zrira2, Mohamed Boujnah3, and Bouchta Saidi4
1 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
2 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
3 Laboratory of Agro-Food Technology- National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat, Morocco
4 Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, B.P. 6202, Rabat, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2017 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The objective of the present work was to evaluate the changes in morphological and physicochemical characteristics of Moroccan prickly pear cultivars at three different stages of maturity. The results of morphological study showed that the width, length, skin thickness, diameter and depth of receptacle differed significantly depending the cultivars and did not differ significantly depending the maturity. Other parameters such as the weight of the pulp, the skin and the whole fruit differed significantly depending on the cultivars and the maturity; they increased with advance in maturity, while the proportions of skin decreased. For the physicochemical analyzes, the results showed that moisture, pH, Brix, vitamin C, total sugar and fat have a significant difference between the cultivars and maturity; they increased with advance in maturity, while the percentage of fat decreased. However, no important differences were observed in ash, reducing and non -reducing sugars between the stages of ripeness of the fruits.
Author Keywords: Prickly pear, stages of maturity, morphological characteristics, physicochemical analyzes.
How to Cite this Article
Jihane Oumato, Saadia Zrira, Mohamed Boujnah, and Bouchta Saidi, “Effect of maturity stage on morphological and chemical characteristics of Opuntia ficus indica from Morocco,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 400–410, April 2017.
