ABSTRACT
634Tropical plants are exotic and have much diversity in fruit shapes, colors, and flavors that make them different in nutrients and antioxidative compounds. Generally, the edible portions of tropical fruits are developed from several parts of fertilized flowers. Fruit pulp is mainly arose from the ovary wall and operates a smooth ripening process as typical. However, in some tropical fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, and durian, the edible part (aril) is developed either from the funiculus (the seed stalk) or the integument (seed coat). These pulps as a food storage organ function nonsmooth ripening process, unlike those derived from the ovary wall. In case of 635durian, each fruit contains 4–5 locules in which pulp (aril) is developed from the funiculus and wrapped around the seed. During ripening, the nutritional values in durian aril are altered, especially increasing carotenoids (pro-vitamin A) showing pulp color which is represented as an important antioxidant. On the other hand, the quality of mangosteen and rambutan fruits is always considered from the thickness or fibrous tissue of the pulp developed from the integument. The pulps are prompt to synthesize and accumulate lignins and fibers in the tissue under unsuitable storage conditions and during fruit ripening which enhance the changes of antioxidant substances of phenolics. Thus, the changes in antioxidant potential in tropical fruits are summarized in this chapter.
