Physicochemical and nutritional characterization of jamun (Syzygium cuminii)

Jamun (Syzygium cuminii) is an important minor fruits in India. Minor fruits are good source of nutrition and pharmaceuticals properties. Among all minor fruits Jamun is highly perishable but nutritious. It is mainly used for diabetes patients and in the pharmaceuticals industries. It is a good source of anthocyanin, effective against the analgesic properties. There is no proper data available for the Indian Jamun. The fruit is having a very good market value, but due to its unavailability and perishability it is still unexploited. Physicochemical, mechanical and sensory properties had been investigated for Jamun fruit as well as seed in this paper for further use and storage. Weight of the whole fruit was 8.99±1.89gm whereas the seed weight was 1.64±0.21gm. In case of mechanical property whole fruit can be penetrated up-to 4.1mm whereas, at the same load for seed it can penetrate up-to 2.53mm. Purple colour for pulp, juice and whole fruit was-9.7,-0.9, and-0.76 respectively. High amount of polyphenol (203.76±9.84, 386.51±10.25) tannin (94.52±9.19, 388.99±7.34) and anthocyanin (195.58±6.15, 18.47±1.99) present in both fruit and seed. In case of minerals, presence of K, Ca and Na are significant. In case of sensory analysis mouthfeel and colour was good compared to market sample. This study is helpful for the postharvest processing, machine designing and for further analysis of Jamun.