The wild fruits selected for the present study were Adansonia digitata, Landolphia kirkii, Salacia kraussii, Sclerocarya birrea, and Vangueria infausta. These fruits are popular in Mozambique, free copy and they play an important role in the diet, particularly in rural areas.2. Materials and Methods2.1. SpeciesFive wild fruit species were studied: Adansonia digitata (A. digitata) (family Bombacaceae, local name n’buyu or Malambe), Landolphia kirkii (L. kirkii) (family Apocynaceae, local name n’vhungwa), Salacia kraussii (S. kraussii) (family Celastraceae, local name n’phinsha), Sclerocarya birrea (S. birrea) (family Anacardiaceae, local name n’canhi), and Vangueria infausta (V. infausta) (family Rubiaceae, local name n’pfilwa). Ripe fruits were collected in 2008 and 2009, except for the fruits from S.
birrea, which were collected only in 2009. A. digitata fruits, grown in the Tete district 1100km from Maputo city, were bought at a local market in Maputo, and some fruits were collected in family orchards in the Vilankulos district, 700km south of Maputo. L. kirkii, S. kraussii, and V. infausta fruits were collected in orchards in the Marracuene and Manhi?a districts, 30 and 50km south of Maputo. Fruits from S. birrea were obtained from a garden in Maputo city and S. birrea kernels, dried for 1�C3 months, were obtained from a small family orchard in Manhi?a. The fruits were collected in districts where there is an increased occurrence and consumption of them.2.2. Sample PreparationUnblemished fruits were selected and washed, the skin and seeds were removed, and the remaining parts were homogenized in a blender to obtain 100g pulp of each type of fruit.
Different numbers of fruit were used depending on fruit size and mass of pulp. The fruits from A. digitata had low moisture content and the pulp was ground into a fine powder and sieved (500��m meshes). The seeds from A. digitata and S. birrea were crushed and the kernels inside were removed, milled, and sieved (500��m meshes). Samples for determination of pH and titratable acidity were kept at room temperature and the analyses were performed on the day after collecting the fruit. The samples for the other analyses were vacuum-packed in plastic bags and stored at ?18��C in a freezer. 2.3. AnalysisTo determine the dry matter content, 2g samples were dried in an oven at 105��C until constant weight [12].
The samples were weighed before and after drying and the contents of dry matter were calculated. The protein content was determined in an Elementar Analyzer (Flash EA 1112 Series, Thermo Batimastat Fisher Scientific, Sweden), by means of combustion of 25mg samples. Aspartic acid (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Delft, The Netherlands) was used as a standard. The amount of protein was calculated by converting the amount of nitrogen by a factor 6.25.