Ragupathy Subramanyam, Thirugnanasambandam Arunachalam, Vinayagam Varathan, Sneha Ragupathy, Newmaster Steven G
College of Biological Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
Biological and Life Sciences, Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 2V3, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 4;15(1):28361. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-12408-6.
Acerola (Barbados cherries) has become a highly traded superfruit because it contains many phytonutrients and is a good source of vitamin C. The fruits of Malpighia glabra, and M. emarginata are utilized in food products, dietary supplements and natural health products. However, there are differences among the fruit of Malpighia species with respect to phytochemicals, nutrient value and clinical research. Furthermore, there is evidence of adulteration with other fruit such as cherries (Prunus spp.). Unfortunately, conventional morphological examination does not distinguish acerola fruit species. Furthermore, no published methods are available to distinguish the fruits of these species including chemical and DNA based techniques. This risk to quality assurance (QA) is increased when considering processed berries into juice or powdered ingredients of which are the most common source for manufactures. This lack of QA methods also increases the risk of adulteration with cheaper fruit from other species. The goal of this research is to provide orthogonal molecular methods to authenticate Acerola fruit ingredients and discuss the benefits and constraints of these two different methods. This research supports quality assurance (QA) programs with fit-for-purpose methods for verifying the authenticity of acerola species ingredients from suppliers.
针叶樱桃（巴巴多斯樱桃）已成为一种交易频繁的超级水果，因为它含有多种植物营养素，且是维生素C的优质来源。光樱桃（Malpighia glabra）和凹缘光樱桃（M. emarginata）的果实被用于食品、膳食补充剂和天然健康产品中。然而，不同种类的光樱桃在植物化学成分、营养价值和临床研究方面存在差异。此外，有证据表明存在用其他水果（如樱桃（李属））掺假的情况。不幸的是，传统的形态学检查无法区分针叶樱桃的果实种类。此外，目前还没有公开的方法可以区分这些种类的果实，包括基于化学和DNA的技术。当考虑将加工后的浆果制成果汁或粉末状成分（这是制造商最常见的原料来源）时，质量保证（QA）面临的风险会增加。缺乏质量保证方法也增加了用其他种类较便宜水果掺假的风险。本研究的目的是提供正交分子方法来鉴定针叶樱桃果实成分，并讨论这两种不同方法的优缺点。本研究通过适用的方法支持质量保证（QA）计划，以验证来自供应商的针叶樱桃种类成分的真实性。
