Physico-chemical characterization of Indian olive (Elaeocarpus floribundus) grown in Terai Region of West Bengal

Wild and underutilized fruits along with the major fruits which are locally available, are very important to meet the dietary requirement of fruit and also to diversify the fruit basket on the dining table. Northern parts of Bengal are important eco-geological strata of different minor and underutilized fruits. Indian olive (Elaeocarpus floribundus) is one of the minor crops grown in terai region of West Bengal. It produces white coloured flowers in the leaf axil during April-May and fruits are generally harvested during August-October. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals. However, there is no literature available regarding physico-chemical composition of the fruits. In this experiment, fully matured light green fruits were collected from a homestead garden at Pundibari village of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal. The fruits were analyzed for weight, colour, pulp weight, seed weight, pulp:seed ratio, total soluble solids, titrable acidity, total sugar, ascorbic acid, pH, moisture, ash, crude fibre, fat, protein, carbohydrate, food energy value, zinc, manganese, copper, chromium, lead, sulphur, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, C:N ratio. The results showed that it contains a high pulp:seed ratio of 4.91, total soluble solids of 9.98 °Brix, ascorbic acid of 50 mg 100 g^-1 pulp, food energy value of 97.23 kcal g^-1, zinc of 46.31 µg g^-1 dried powder, manganese of 53.86 µg g^-1 dried powder, copper of 7.82 µg g^-1 dried powder and C:N ratio of 55.61.