Guava variety with greater vitamin C content discovered
UN/DICYT An analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of guava performed by UNal and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Caldas (Corpoica for its Spanish acronym) discovered a guava variety with increased vitamin C levels.
UNal-Palmira Biological Sciences master’s candidate Anyelo Andrey Gutiérrez Devia directed his research towards the quality of guava fruits of the Corpoica germoplasm bank.
Gutiérrez collected material from ten introductions in mature harvesting stages performed by this entity. He analyzed their form, odor, color, vitamin C content, production and yield. For this he used five fruits per tree and analyzed them individually.
To assess the content of vitamin C and other chemical variables, the researcher analyzed a pulp blend of five fruits.
After the laboratory analysis he discovered material with interesting features from fruits coming from white guava varieties from the Province of Valle del Cauca.
Gutiérrez says that vitamin C levels were greater in the white and 71-99 varieties, which additionally had a higher total dry matter average (important yield variable) and a high maturity rate.
One of the suggestions of this project is that materials coming from native Valle del Cauca varieties should be consumed fresh or after industrial processing as they have greater vitamin C levels for fruit weight and length.
White variety materials are recommended for fresh consumption as they have the best averages of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid and total vitamin C which are essential for the body.
“Consumption of these fruits could contribute to improve the nutritional quality of people. High diversity discovered in the assessed material by physical-chemical quality analyses reflects the wealth of the germoplasm, which should be valued and directed towards planting these materials for genetic improvement purposes,” said Gutiérrez.
Prodigious fruit
According to the Agricultural Sector Strategic Communication and Information Network (Agronet, for its Spanish acronym) in the last ten years guava has had a stable behavior in Colombia. Guava has maintained a crop area of 14,000 hectares, an annual production of approximately 120,000 tons and a yield of 10 tons per hectare.
Knowing its physical, chemical and organoleptic (odor and flavor) properties is very important for good fruit productive behavior.
Not surprisingly tropical fruits are considered as greatly important for the food security of developing countries, from the nutritional standpoint and for their contribution to exports and revenue.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 90% of the tropical fruits produced are consumed within producing countries, 5% are marketed as fresh fruit and the rest are sold as processed products.
Guava crops are originally from the tropical American continent. According to Agronet, the fruit is economically and commercially important for Colombia, as it is one of the main raw materials within the agro-industrial sector.