Physical-chemistry characterization of fresh fruits of no traditional crops in Venezuela. I The yaca

Abstract

The yaca, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Moraceae, native of India, is not well-known in Venezuela. It is known as Jaca, Poorman bread, Jackfruit; or like nangka in Malaysia and the Philippines; khanun in Thailand, khnor in Cambodia, mak my or may my in Laos and mit in Vietnam. Is an evergreen tree, producing more yield than any other fruit tree species and with extensive edible use, and consumed both as a vegetable in the unripe stage and also as fruit when ripe. Evaluations of quality carried out in fruits from plants established in the experimental field (CENIAP), demonstrate that their weight averages oscillate between 2 and 3 kg, being able to produce fruits 8 kg. The proportion of the fruit in physiological maturity is of approximately 59% of pulp, 37% of rind and 4% of seeds, although the number of seeds varied significantly of fruits of a plant to another (3 to 40), being the weight of these around the 7 g. The values of SST, acidity, and vitamin C were different between the organoleptic maturity and ripe stage and the fruit section analyzed, standing out the high nutritious value of their seeds.