Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Chemical Engineering, University Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia / Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 2 Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 3 Faculte des Sciences, University Mohammed Premier, Oujda, Morocco
  • 4 Faculty of Pharmacy-Department of Pharmacognosy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudia Arabia
Pak J Pharm Sci, 2015 Jan;28(1):241-7.
PMID: 25553701

Abstract

Nutritional quality and antioxidant capacity of three edible wild berries (Rubus ellipticus Smith, Rubus niveus Thunb, Rubus ulmifolius L.) from Lesser Himalayan Range (LHR) were evaluated. Their edible portion was assayed for moisture, fats, ash, carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, essential minerals (Ca, P, Mg, K, Na, Cl, S, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Se, Co, Ni) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity was applied to determine the antioxidant potential. The fruit of Rubus ulmifolius L. (blackberry) possessed the highest values of energy (403.29 Kcal), total protein (6.56g/100 g), Nitrogen (N) content (1500mg/100g), K (860.17mg/100g), Ca (620.56mg/100g), Zn (17.509mg/100g) and the strongest antioxidant activity (98.89% inhibition). While the raspberries (Rubus ellipticus Smith, Rubus niveus Thunb.) exhibited more significant contents of dietary fiber (5.90g/100g), carbohydrates (86.4 g/100 g) and Fe (4.249mg/100g). Significant variation was observed among the tested samples in all the investigated features. The combination of bio elements and active antioxidants clearly showed the applicability of these berries as a nutraceutical supplement.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.