Mineral Content and Phytochemical Composition of Avocado var. Hass Grown Using Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Ecuador.

Avocado demand has increased in recent years due to the nutraceutical properties that this fruit has and its positive impacts on human health; however, avocado production also requires sustainable alternatives to improve its cultivation. The objective of this study was to carry out characterization of the mineral content and phytochemical compounds in avocado fruit of the Hass variety grown using sustainable agricultural practices in Ecuador. Our results show an increase in fruit quality traits, such as firmness, and in the content of soluble solids, protein, fiber, fat, carotenoids, Ca, Mg, Zn and stearic acid in the pulp of the avocado Hass variety, as well as an initial trend of yield increase with the application of sustainable practices. Moreover, antioxidant activity was associated with polyphenol content. There were positive correlations of Mg with K and Ca, and of flavonoids with linolelaidic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Overall, our results indicate that avocado can be used as a functional and nutritional food due to its phytochemical composition and the mineral content of its pulp, which contributes to the promotion of its consumption and encourages healthy eating. In addition, the use of sustainable practices, such as fertigation and the application of microorganisms, is also promoted for growing avocado.

Phytochemical Characterization of a Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) Breeding Population Grown in the Inter-Andean Valley of Ecuador.

Tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) is an Andean fruit crop that is grown in Ecuador. It is an exceptional source of minerals and vitamins, thus has nutraceutical properties. The objective of this research was to carry out a phytochemical characterization of a breeding population composed of 90 segregants. Pulp (including mesocarp, mucilage, seeds and placenta) was ground and sieved in order to obtain the liquid pulp to be lyophilized for the chemical analyzes. Antioxidants compounds were determined by spectrophotometry and vitamin C by reflectometry. Data were analyzed by principal components, grouping, and variance analyses; in addition, Z Score estimation was carried out to select elite individuals. There was a broad variability in the data obtained for the breeding population, polyphenol content varied from 5.11 to 16.59 mg GAE g-1, flavonoids from 1.24 to 6.70 mg cat g-1, carotenoids from 50.39 to 460.72 µg ß-carotene g-1, anthocyanins from 1.06 to 240.49 mg cy-3-glu 100 g-1, antioxidant capacity from 49.51 to 312.30 µm Trolox g-1, and vitamin C from 78.29 to 420.16 mg 100 g-1. It can be concluded that tree tomato is a good source of beneficial biocompounds and has a high antioxidant capacity.