Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Studies on volume based mass modelling and physicochemical properties of wild bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis L.) fruits grown in the semi-arid region of Punjab
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Selvan Shilpa S, Nath Amit, Samota Mahesh Kumar, Ahlawat Arvind Kumar
Research Articles | Published: 24 August, 2025
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Keywords: Bitter apple, Physical properties, Perishability, Thermal properties, Axial dimensions
Abstract
The present study was carried out to evaluate the physical, thermal, and bioactive properties of different grades of bitter apple fruits, and subsequently established a correlation between the fruit mass and volume. The properties of wild bitter apple fruits were examined by classifying it in to three different grades based on their average fruit weight. Results indicates that, the axial dimensions such as length, width and thickness were varying from 4.15 to 7.27 cm, 3.93 to 6.28 cm 3.38 to 4.63 cm for small, medium, and large fruits. The bitter apple fruit has a large water content of 90.81% (w.b.) and resembled to spherical shape with a sphericity value of 0.91, respectively. The pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and ascorbic acid values were 6.05 to 6.16, 0.82 to 1.16 °Brix, 0.08 to 0.1%, and 0.073 to 0.08 mg/100 g for small, medium, and large fruits. The value of phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were 5.18 to 7.48 mg GAE/100 g, 5.13 to 5.72 mg CE/100 g, and 53.4 to 65%, respectively for different grades. A quadratic model best explains the relationship between mass and volume for medium and large fruits (R² = 0.825 and 0.923), while logarithmic model (R2 = 0.874) suit for small bitter apple fruits. Results are valuable for enhancing the utilization of bitter apple for wider consumer acceptability and industrial applications, by developing appropriate processing technologies and products.
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Author Information
ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology, Regional Station, Abohar, India