PYTO CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF SOME ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT FRUITS FROM NORTHERN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Phytochemical screening is one of the necessary steps to find out the chemical constituents, which direct the isolation of compounds. Large numbers of phytochemicals were isolated from economically important fruits those have great influence on various pharmacological aspects such as antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer and antioxidant properties. The most important bioactive chemical components are alkaloids, flavanoids and some phenolic compounds. The present study was carried out to investigate the possible phytochemicals (alkaloids, flavanoids, phenols) antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Diospyros lotus, Arachis hypogaea, Prunus americana kernel and Juglans regia fruit. Whereas ingredients in above mentioned fruits were quantified by using Soxhlet apparatus and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Results showed that Juglans regia fruit is highly rich in phytochemicals and shows different biological activities. Juglans regia possesses significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as compared to other fruits. Significant amount of oils was extracted from above mentioned fruits and it was observed that these fruits are good source of nutrition and might be helpful for health of human population.