Morphological and biochemical changes during development and maturation of Spondias cytherea Sonn. (Anacardiaceae) fruitsOriginal Title (non-English) Changements morphologiques et biochimiques au cours du developpement et de la maturation des fruits de Spondias cytherea Sonn. (Anacardiaceae) [French]

摘要

Introduction. The golden apple is an economically under-exploited fruit in Cameroon because of lack of knowledge about the cultivation techniques of the species, and post-harvest conservation and the nutritional value of its fruit. The aim of our study was to analyze some morphological and biochemical changes produced during the development of the golden apple and to attempt to assess the time between fruit set and fruit ripening, to provide a probable harvest date in Central Cameroon. Materials and methods. Some morphological (fruit length, diameter, volume and weight) and biochemical (moisture, total sugars, lipids, proteins and minerals, and chlorophyll a and b contents) parameters of S. cytherea fruits were measured from the time of fruit set up to their maturation. Results and discussion. The morphological parameters measured on the fruit increased over time and their evolution followed a sigmoid curve. The peak values were obtained at the twenty-eighth week with nearly 128 g fresh weight, 19 g dry weight, 69 mm in length, 58 mm in diameter and 116 mL in volume. Chlorophyll a and b contents were decreased during fruit development. The content of mineral elements in fruits decreased with time and potassium was the most abundant element. Its content ranged from 1.6% to 0.9% between the sixth and thirtieth week after fruit set. The total sugars increased with time, while lipids and proteins decreased. Thirty weeks after fruit set, the values were 13.76% of fresh material for sugar, 0.47% dry matter for lipids and 0.43% dry matter for proteins. Conclusion. The composition of golden apple fruit would give this fruit a nutritional value as important as that of some better known tropical fruits such as banana, mango and pineapple.