Phytochemicals of Nutraceutical Importance from Different Pear Cultivars in the Early Stage of Development

Overview

Journal Food Chem X

Date 2024 Dec 17

PMID 39687631

Authors

Abdul Basit

Abdul Mueed

Li Min

Niu Mingxu

Gong Xin

Raheem Shahzad

Wen Yue

Tian Jia

Tao Shutian

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

To make full use of young pear fruit thinned from the trees for optimal fruit load during cultivation, this study explored the nutritional diversity in young fruit of seventy-nine different pear varieties, focusing on their bioactive compounds. Our results showed significant variability in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity of pear varieties. The TPC values ranged from 0.317 ± 0.051 mg GAE/g to 0.0054 ± 0.021 mg GAE/g FW; the highest TPC value has been found in Lixian new bapan, mulberry pear, and red pear varieties, while the lowest value has found in yaqing, weining fragrant pear and apple pear varieties. Similarly, the TFC values demonstrated substantial differences, with Lijiang sesame pear (0.16 ± 0.01), Lixian new bapan (0.13 ± 0.04), and Xiangyuan (0.13 ± 0.02) pear exhibiting the highest flavonoid content. Antioxidant activity, assessed using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay, varied significantly, indicating diverse phytochemical profiles across the varieties. HPLC analysis showed that the high value of bioactive compounds is chlorogenic acid (17.86 ± 4.5), arbutin (2.57 ± 0.3), Epicatechin (1.57 ± 0.27), rutin (0.04 ± 0.03) and ferulic acid (0.30 ± 0.04) found in the mulberry pear variety. Molecular docking studies revealed that chlorogenic acid, Epi-catechin, Rutin, and Ferulic acid showed strong affinity towards proteins such as Nrf2, NF-κB, and iNOS, suggesting potential health benefits. These findings provide valuable insights for breeders, nutritionists, and the food industry, emphasizing the importance of the nutritional quality of pear fruits, and their recycling utilization in the production practice.

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