Abstract

The encroachment of urbanization over the rural environment and deterioration of large areas of wilderness in the Middle East make many people weaned away from appreciation of wild plant food resources. The studies on wild edible fruits are deemed essential and open the possibility for its use as source of nutritional and pharmaceutical materials. Fruits of three species Arbutus pavarii, Ficus palmata and Nitraria retusa were analyzed for evaluation of their nutritive values and antioxidant capacities. The protein, carbohydrate and lipid content of the fruits may exceed or coincide the reported values of other wild and cultivated edible fruits. The energy content reached 790 kcal/ 100 g fresh weight. The mineral composition reaches high quantities of K, Ca, Mg, Na and other essential elements including P, Fe, Zn and Cu. The total antioxidant phenolic compounds content ranged from 10.31 to 16.46 mg/g with major constituents of tannins, anthocyanins and carotenoids. Vitamin C content varied between 25.33 to 85.00 mg/ 100 g fresh weight. The antioxidant activity and DPPH free radical scavenging demonstrated concentration dependent increase. Considering the quality rather than quantity, the nutritional value and pharmaceutical potential of the study wild fruits may outweigh the traditionally cultivated fruits.

Key words: Macronutrients, minerals, energy, phenolics, scavenging activity.