| Abstract: | The chemical composition of the Kew cultivar of Indian pineapple (Ananas cosmosus L.) was studied after 65 days (pre-mature), 100 days (early mature), and 150 days (late-mature) from flowering. The fruit was analysed for sugars, amino acids and minerals. Total soluble carbohydrates increased from 6.02 to 9.24%, and protein content decreased from 0.69 to 0.21%, during the fruit-development process. The vitamin C content decreased from 20.4 to 11.1 mg 100 g?1 edible fruit during development. Fructose, glucose and sucrose together constituted approximately 5.0% (pre-mature), 2.4% (early mature), and 1.2% (late-mature) of fresh weight. The contents of iron, boron and zinc increased during development. The major minerals in the mature fruit were potassium (31.33 mg 100 g?1), phosphorus (3.13 mg 100 g?1), calcium (3.92 mg 100 g?1), sodium (2.63 mg 100 g?1), iron (3.22 mg 100 g?1), zinc (0.55 mg 100 g?l), and copper (0.06 mg 100 g?1) of fresh sample. The content of most amino acids decreased during development; only aspartic acid showed a considerable increase in the late-mature fruit. |
