Nutritional properties and quality of paw-paw fruit from Croatia

JANA ŠIC ŽLABUR1, SANDRA VOĆA1 , KATARINA LICITAR OSMIČEVIĆ2, MIA DUJMOVIĆ1, MARTINA SKENDROVIĆ BABOJELIĆ3*
1University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Technology, Storage and Transport, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, *jszlabur@agr.hr
2 University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate student, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
3 University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Department of pomology, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

1. INTRODUCTION
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal, commonly known as paw-paw is the only temperate fruit species in the family Anonacae of the genus Asimina, otherwise
characteristic of tropical climates. Asimina triloba L. is the species with the largest edible fruit native to North America. Even in native areas of this species,
the fruits are mostly collected from wild populations, while commercial cultivation is limited to small private orchards. The fruits of this species are
becoming increasingly popular, mainly because they have great potential for fresh consumption, but also for processing, and have a number of beneficial
effects on human health. The fruits of paw-paw are characterized by high energy value, but also by high nutritional potential, as they contain significant
amounts of various vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals important for human health. The aim of this work was to determine the nutritional
potential, bioactive compound content, and antioxidant capacity of the paw-paw fruits from different growing areas in Croatia.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The paw-paw fruits (Figure 1 and 2) analyzed for the purpose of this study were harvested from different locations in Croatia: Donja Bistra, Bedekovčina,
Gornja Bistra, Virovitica (mainland Croatia) and Poličnik (Zadar hinterland). Fruits were collected from paw-paw plantations at all locations between August
and October 2021 (depending on ripeness). At each site, a total of 10 fruits were randomly harvested from a total of five different trees in the plantation.
The fruits were harvested at the optimal stage of ripeness, which was assessed by the softness of the fruits. Immediately after harvesting, the fruits were
transported to the laboratory of the Department of the Agricultural Technology, Storage and Transport where chemical analyzes were performed using
standard laboratory procedures for fruits and vegetables.

Figure 1. Paw-paw fruit and seeds Figure 2. Paw-paw fruit

(Šic Žlabur, 2021) (Šic Žlabur, 2021)
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the physicochemical properties of the paw-paw fruits are shown in Figure 3. The location had a significant effect on the analyzed
physicochemical properties of the paw-paw fruits, with the highest dry matter content in the fruits from Donja Bistra and Virovitica, and the lowest in the
fruits from Bedekovčina. A similar trend was observed for total sugar content, as the highest total sugar content was determined in fruits from Donja
Bistra, while it was the lowest in fruits from Bedekovčina. TA was the highest in fruits from Donja Bistra and the lowest in fruits from Virovitica. The
obtained results are consistent with other studies that also emphasize location (specific pedoclimatic factors) as the main factor affecting physicochemical
properties (Nam et al., 2018; Tabacu et al., 2020). The content of bioactive compounds in the studied paw-paw fruits from different locations is shown in
Figure 4. The location also had a significant effect on the content of bioactive compounds in the paw-paw fruits. The highest vitamin C content was
determined in the fruits from Virovitica, the lowest in the fruits from Poličnik; total phenols were highest in the fruits from Virovitica, and lowest in the
fruits from Donja Bistra, Bedekovčina and Virovitica; the content of β-carotene was significantly higher in the fruits from Poličnik while the lowest in fruits
from Donja Bistra. It is worth of noting that ripening stage significantly affect total phenols content as Kobayashi et al. (2008) determined that the level of
phenolic compounds decreases with fruit ripening. Considering the high determined contents of all analyzed bioactive compounds, the antioxidant
capacity of all papaya fruits was high, with the highest determined value in the fruits from Bedekovčina, Gornja Bistra and Virovitica.

26,29a Donja Bistra 2513,75a

2242,06b
22,85c
Donja Bistra
20,1c Bedekovčina 2520,93a

23,98b 2515,23a
Bedekovčina
20,73b Gornja Bistra
25,54a
Gornja Bistra
20,13c Virovitica 2272,65b
20,16d 22,57a Virovitica
Poličnik Poličnik
17,03d

6,21a
198,73c 179,36a
6,21a 16,73e 288,42a
51,94a 75,57bc
0,24bc 6,25a 244,75b
0,17c 5,83b 47,45b 68,24bc
194,72c
128,03ab
0,18bc 6,32a 26,91d
196,84c
0,25b 35,44c 26,91c

0,33a
Antioxidant Vitamin C Total phenols(mg β- carotene
. capacity (µmol
TE/kg)
(mg/100 g) GAE/100 g) (µg/100 g)
Dry matter content (%)
Total soluble solids (%)
Total acid content (%) pH- value

Figure 3. Physicochemical properties of paw-paw fruits from different locations
4. CONCLUSION
Paw-paw fruits are a significant source of numerous phytochemicals, i.e.,
bioactive compounds, and have a high antioxidant capacity, which makes them
important for human health. Regarding the analyzed physicochemical
properties, papaya fruits are characterized by a high content of dry matter and
soluble solids, which makes them important for processing. The location of
cultivation significantly influenced the analyzed physicochemical properties of
the fruits, as well as the content of bioactive compounds.
Figure 4. Bioactive compunds content and antioxidant capacity of
paw-paw fruits from different locations
5. REFERENCES
1. Kobayashi, H., Wang, C., and Pomper, K. W. (2008). Phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of pawpaw fruit (Asimina
triloba L.) at different ripening stages. HortScience horts 43, 1, 268-270.
2. Nam, J.K., Jang, H.L., and Rhee, H.J. (2018). Nutritional compositions in roots, twigs, leaves, fruit pulp, and seeds from
pawpaw (Asimina triloba L.) grown in Korea. Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality, 91, 47 - 55.
3. Tabacu, F.A., Butcaru, C.A., Stan, A., Mihai, A.C., Stanica, F.(2020). Pawpaw Hybrid Genotypes (Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal)
Cultivated in the Bucharest Area. Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj – Napoca.
Horticulture, 77(2):104-116.

V Balkan Symposium on Fruit Growing, Zagreb, Croatia, June 18-21, 2023