Appearance quality, nutritional value, and aroma components of wild diguo (Ficus tikoua Bur.) fruit collected from southwest China

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Abstract
Diguo (Ficus tikoua Bur.), an ancient wild fruit, is widely spread in southwest China. However, there is little information on the phenotypic traits, quality characteristics, and aroma compounds available to diguo fruit. The present study is an investigation into the effects of geographical origin on the phenotypic traits and quality characteristics of wild diguo fruit collected from southwest China. The volatile compounds in the mixed fruit samples were also investigated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Our results indicated that significant variation existed among the sampling materials in all the phenotypic parameters. Fruit fresh weight ranged between 2.06 and 4.59 g. Moreover, significant variation existed among the selected materials in all macronutrients (dry matter, total soluble solids, crude protein, crude fat, and ash) and some nutritional parameters (glutamate, arginine, total soluble solids, maltose, and mannose, etc.). Regardless of their geographical origin, diguo fruit is relatively low in fat and fructose and high in fiber and glutamate. A total of 95 volatile constituents were identified in the frozen diguo fruit. In conclusion, diguo fruit with rich nutritional attributes has a promising future for commercial‐scale production. The variability of the observed morphological and nutritional features of diguo fruit provides important characteristics for improving the breeding of diguo as a modern fruit crop.

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