Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research Vol.58, June 1999, pp 414-421

Biology and Potential of Psidium guajava

S21tyawati Sharma, Kirti Rajat, Rajendra Prasad and Padma Vasudevan Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology

New Delhi 110016

This review paper dea ls with the biology and potential of PsidiulIl guaja va relating to its food value, medicinal v<\l ue and various types of chemicals obtained from it. Guava is a mycorrhi zotrophic and mUltipurpose pl ant highly suited to tropi ca l and subtropical climates . Evaluation of hi gh yielding and short du ration varieties of guava with tissue cu lture techniques ranks its porcnti al. Further, auava is rich in Vit-A and a number of carotenoids namely Iycopene, a-carotene, y-carotene, Zeinoxanthium, 5-6, 5·, 6· - diepoxy - 13-~arotene and 5-8-epoxy 3, 3' 4'- trihydroxy l3-carotene. Lycopene is a principal pi gment in this plant. The medicinal propcl1i es of guava for certain types of di seases covering cancer are attributed to the presence of carotenoids and other bioactive components and Vit-A in different parts of it. It is rich in 116 types of vola tile compou nds. Its multipurpose economic use need to be applied in rural and urban

areas.

Biological Aspects Guava (Psidium guajava) member of famil y Myrtaceae, is an important small frui t tree native to tropical America, now di stributed in all tropical and SUbtropical areas of the world (Martin 1984). India ranks fourth in guava production (Singh, 1992). Although it is cultivated in almost all parts of the country, All ahabad is famous for production of best quality in India as well as in the world (Mitra and Bose, 1985). Its total production area in In­dia is 30,000 hectares. V .P. covers largest area, i.e. 9,840 ha followed by Bihar 4 ,800 ha (Jai swal, 1980). It grows well in light sandy loam to clay soils in a pH range of 4 .5-8 .3 and can also be grown in poor soils .

Varieties There are a number of vari e ti es of guava.

Lucknow 49 (roundis h Ovate), Allahabad Safeda (roundish) and seedless fruit s are known to be excellent varieties while Banarsi (round), Chitridar (Sub-globose), Apple colour (spherical) , Behat coconut (round), Hafshi (spherical), Safed jam (roundi sh), etc . are considered to be good. The variety red tleshed (roundish ovate) is known as poor quality fruit.

Propagation Guava is propagated by freshly extracted seeds,

layering (both air and pot), grafting, budding, root sprouts,

ti ssue culture and cuttings (Soule, 1976). Propagation of guava by cuttings under ordinary conditions may not be done; however, the propagation with cuttings has been found very successful (93.3 per cent rooling) under mi st condition, i.e. , with the use of p-hydrobenzoic acid (200 ppm) and IBA (5000 ppm) (Dhua et al., 1992).

Pot layering method was highly successful for rai sing guava plant from the old and unproduc tive guava trees which are head back very near to the ground level. The new shoots formed are placed in the ric h rooting me­dium pots. A cut is made in bent shoot and this portion is buried in the soil. This method is carried out during Dec.­Mar, and can also be followed during ra iny season. Regu­lar watering of pot is a must. The best result is seen with IBA treatment (6000 ppm) in lanolin paste (Singh, 1992). Air layering is done in the rainy season. In thi s process old plant shoots of about \-1.5 cm d ia are taken and a ring of bark 2.5-3 .0 cm is removed and a black polythene is wrapped. After 6-7 weeks the polythene is removed and the ring is covered by sphagnum moss followed by polythene strip wrapping for rooting. Now these layers can be removed in 30-45 days and planted in pots con­taining almost equal parts of soil and co mpost.

However, guava plants raised from seeds show great variability and, therefore, vegetative propagation of se­lected clones has been recommended (Purseglove, 1974). During last two decades the technique of

SHARMA el al. : BIOLOGY AND POTENTIAL OF PSIDIUM GUAJAVA 415

micropropagation has been used for the rapid clonal mul­tiplication of many fruit plants including guava. In India work on propagation of guava through tissue culture was initiated by laiswal and Amin (1987) . They found that shoot tip explants from mature trees were capable of form­ing multiple shoots. Proliferation of shoot tip was ob­tained on Murashige and Skoog' s (MS) basal medium containing different combinations and concentrations of auxins and cytokinins. Highest number of shoots per explant was obtained from cultures grown on medium supplemented with I mg per litre 6-benzylamino-purine (BAP) only. Rooting was achieved by transferring the individual shoots to half strength MS medium having 0.1-0.5 mg per litre Indole-3-Butyri c ac id (IBA ) and a­Napthalene acetic acid (NAA) . Addition of activated charchoal showed benefici al effec ts on rooting percent­ages and plantlet growth. Papadatou et al. ( 1990) estab­li shed proliferated shoot cultures from shoot tips from seedling grown in a growth chamber and cultured on rugini olive medium (OM ) s uppl e me nted with benzyl adenin e (BA). Maximum pro life rati o n was achieved with 2 mg per litre BA. Blackening of medium which is a seriou s problem in chittidar guava and shoot­tip necrosis did not occur in the cultures . Shoot explants were eas ily rooted in vitro using Olive med ium (OM) with NAA and IBA at 0.5 and I mg per litre for both auxins. Rooted shoots can readily be es tab li shed in peat­based medium.

Similarly different parts of guava seedlings and the nodal segments of grafted plants were used as explants for in vitro culture . A high frequency (75- 100 per cent) at shoot generation was obtained from seedling hypocotyl, shoot tip and nodal segments cultured in Murashi ge and Skoog's (MS) medium with or without G-Benzyl ami no purine (BA~he advantages of using grafted plants as a source of explants over exp lants from mature trees are :

I.

2.

3.

Elite fruiting trees from distant places could be grafted onto root stocks and the grafted plants brought to the lab.

Growing them in an encl osed area would reduce problems of contamination.

Pl ants maintained under controll ed condition minimize seasonal variations in response and cul­tures can be raised round the year (Loh and Rao, 1989). Morc work on callus formation and clonal

propagation of guava was reported by different workers. (Amin and Jaiswal, 1987; 1988; Babbar and Gupta, 1986).

Babbar and Gupta (1986) worked with the anthers of guava cultivated on either Murashi ge-Skoog 's or Nitsch Basal medium (BM) supplemented with 10 " Be nzyl amino Purine (BAP) which were observed to contain micro spores undergoing androgenic segmentations as well as a few multicellular microscopic embryoids. How­ever final morphogenic response from such cultured an­thers was the development of calli. These calli had re­stricted growth accompanied by their early browning. Suspecting the browning to be due to accumulation of polyphenols, the culture medium was fortified with poly­vinyl pyrolidone (PVP). The PVP increased sucrose con­centration in the medium and the co ld pretreatment of anthers decreased the proportion of anthers turning brown as we ll as de layed the browning of calli. But it was not possible to maintain the calli fo r differentiation . Cold pre-treatment s ignificantly inc reased the percentage of callusing anthers and also resulted in the early emergence of calli .

The guava crop varies in requirement of manure and fertilizers with varie ti es grown, c limatic conditi ons, so il status, management pract ices, e tc. Wagh and Maliazas ( 1985) reported the general doses of manure and fert i I iz­ers in various states ofIndia for better and high fruit yie ld . Young guava trees require pruning several year to avoid long, s lender branches . Also, heavy pruning in guava he lps fruitin g. Guava trees produce fruit s twice in a year in northern India and thrice in weste rn and southern In­dia. When flo wering is in June-Jul y, the fruits that ripe from November-January are of excellent quality bu t the yield is very low. Fruits produced from Jul y-September are of poor qua lity.

Menzel and Paxton ( 1986) studi ed the pattern of de­ve lopment in seven guava varieties grown in subt ropical coastal southern Queensland to test the hypothes is th at the growth pattern of some varieties is more suited to that environment. Guava fruit y ield ranged from 68.8-138.7 kg/tree.

Ti wari and Upadhyaya ( 1996) studied the effect of add­ing phosphorus and boron in combination and separately. The pos itive effect was observed maximum with 30 g phosphorus and 10 ppm boron per plant, in terms of plant growth, nutrient status and intensity of bronzi ng decrease. Bronzing is a complex nutritional di sorder due to potas­sium, phosphorus and zinc deficie ncies.

416 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 JUNE 1999

Nagar and Rao (1986) studied the early changes in growth regulator content of pollinated guava fruits and observed that endogenous auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins are associated with fruit set in guava. In the pollinated ovaries of both cultivars the activity of these factors increased during fruit set and in the unpollinated ovaries it decreased after anthesis. Harrnonal activity disappeared when the unpollinated overies dropped off the branches on the 3rd or 4th day after anthesis. The result also showed that there may be an overlap of func­tions and synergistic relationships between these hormo­nal factors in fruit set, which may be a funct ion of their combined action.

The plant raised by seedling starts bearing fruits in 4-5 years while from vegetative methods it starts at the age of 2-4 y. However guava fruits require nearly 5 months to mature (Welgemoed and Preez,. 1986). A yield of 80-90 kg per grown up seedling tree and 150-200 kg per grown up tree raised from vegetative method such as grafted or layered trees is reported. The yield is very low under waste lands (30-50 kg/grown up tree) (S ingh, 1992).

Fruit Yield and Storage The guava tree begins to bear small crops from its

• fourth year. It reaches full maturity and starts bearing large crops in its eighth year and may continue to bear heavily for 30 years or more. The guava tree takes nearly 5 months from flowering time to maturation of fruits . Attaining maturity shows signs of changing the colour of the fruits from dark green ~o yellowish green. This is the right stage for harvesting them for the market. Though the guava acquires the finest eating quality when allowed to tum perfectly yellow and to ripen fully on the tree, it is not advisable to keep it so long on the tree, since it either drops or is eaten away by birds and squirrels. Also, such ripe fruits become soft and over-ripe and unfit for con­sumption by the time they reach the consumer. The guava fruit does not keep in wholesome condition for more than a couple of days after it is fully ripe.

A seedling tree of 8-1 0 years and above may bear 400-500 fruits, weighing about 60-80 kg. and a grafted or lay­ered tree of the same age may bear as many as I ,000-2,000 fruits weighing about 180-310 kg. In Allahabad, a yield up to 35 tonnes per hectare has been reported. Guava is highly perishable fruit. It can be cold stored at II "C for a week but tends to lose its lusture and deteriorates once it is removed from the storage. Allahabad Safeda type of guava can be stored for 4 weeks at a temperature

of 9-1 0" and R.H . of 85-90 percent. Bigger fruits should be chosen for cold storage in preference to smaller ones. The approximate post-storage life at 25-30" is three days. Storage life of the fruits coated with 3 per cent wax emul­sion can be extended by 8 per cent at room temperature (22-28") and by 50 percent at low temperature (8-10").

Diseases The common diseases observed in guava are Anthrac­

nose (Gleosporium psidu) in whi~h the growing tip turns dark brown and black necrotic ca~sing dieback of plants, Guava wilt (Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phascolina), Guava fruit canker (Pestalotia psidii) and stem canker (Psysalospora psidii) . Ullasa (1985) dis­covered a new fruit rot of guava caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. Infected fruits were kept under lab conditions and the viability of the sclerotia were tested periodically by inoculating the healthy fruits of guava. It was ob­served that sclerotia were viable and caused infection even after one year. In a heap, infection spreads very fast from fruit to fruit during storage.

Guava fruit fly (Dacus dorsalis Hendal), Mealy Bug. Bark eating caterpillar (Inderbela tetranois ) and Carribean fruit fly (Nigg and Mallory ; 1994) are com­monly known insect pest. Chloropulvinaria psidii, com­monly called the guava soft is one of the commonest scale insects in southern India and is a serious pest of guava and sapota. (Gopalakrishnan and Narayanan, 1989). Willers and Grech (1986) studied the pathenogenicity of the spiral nematode Helicotylenchus dihystera to guava.

Potential Aspects

Food Value Guava fruits, rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, pectins

and other nutrients (Wilson, 1980), are best known for making pickles, jelly, jams, squashes, sherbets and icecreams in the most countries of tropics. The process products of guava are important in international trade (Martin, 1984). Fruit taste is best at the edible ripe stage when it is still slightly hard. Mature guavas can only be stored for a limited period at room temperature. The maturity of the fruit at the time of harvest detennines its quality and storage life (Chundawat et al., 1978). It is reported that with the advancement of fruit growth, spe­cific gravity (sp. gr.) decreases and reaches - 1.0 at the mature harvest stage (Kumar and Hoda, 1974). Tandon et al. (1989) concluded that guava fruits with asp. gr. < 1.00 are of the best quality but a slightly shorter life due

SHARMA el al. : BIOLOGY AND POTENTIAL OF PSIDIUM GUAJAVA 417

to dull appearance, loose texture and overripe taste with poor flavour at later stages. The quality of fruits of sp. gr. between 1.00 and 1.02 was marginally inferior to the former at earlier stages but they had a slightly longer shelf life having glossy appearance, optimum ripe taste and good texture. The fruits of this group withstand han­dling and transport better. The fruits with asp. gr. of > 1.02 should not be harvested as they are relatively im­mature and may not develop proper colour, texture , fla­vour, and inferior in nutrient quality, especially in vita­min C content, aroma and taste. Yusof and Mohamed (1987) studied the physico chemical changes in guava during development and maturation . They found that soluble pectin increase during development and matu­rity. Insoluble pectin (NaOH soluble) increased during development but was converted to soluble pectin during maturity after 14 weeks, after which the fru its can be considered to have attained maturity. They also found that moisture content is a better index of maturity to be used along with fruit size, colour, texture and the chemi­cal indices of tannin and sugar content. Studies were conducted to observe the changes in sugar, ash and min­erals in four guava cultivars during ripening (Buluk and Babiker, 1996). When guava fruits were picked 106-126 days after fruit set, it ensures sufficient amount of miner­als. Cell wall materials (CWM) were ex tracted sepa­rately from the endocarp and mesocarp portions of guava fruit by the sodium deoxycholate extraction procedure and further fractionated by enzymic and physical means into parenchymatous and hard stone cell wall. Mesocarp contained approximately 90 per cent of total CWM of the edible part of guava. Approximately 74 per cent of which were stone cells while endocarp was relatively richer in parenchymatous tissue. Parenchymatous cell wall had sim ilar compound in both endocarp and mesocarp and were made up of - 55 7 60 per cent of neu­tral polysaccharides (Marcelin et al., 1993). The carote­noid composition of guava fruit was studied by different workers. Nakasone et at. (1976) quantified only the lycopene fraction while Nougueria et al. (1978) and Fonseca et al. (1969) determined the B-carotene content. Holdsworth (1979) cited a-carotene and B-carotene as the principal pigments of guava. Padula and Rodriguez Amaya (1986) dealt with the characterisation of the carotenoids and assessment of Vit-A value of Brasilian guava fruits . The carotenoids of guava cultivar IAC-4 from the state of SaO Paulo (south eastern Brasil) were identified as B-carotene C-carotene, Y -carotene, Zeinoxanthin, Iycopene, 5-6, 5'6' - diepoxy-B-carotene

and 5,8-epoxy - 3,3,4'-trihydroxy B-carotene. The prin­cipal pigment was Iycopene, corresponding to 86 per cent of the total carotenoid content (62 flg/g). B-carotene was present at 3.7 flg/g, consequently, the vitamin-A was rela­tively low (617 IU/IOOg). The same carotenoids were encountered in guavas from the states of Ceara and Pernambuco (north eastern Brasil).

Cis-'t-carotene and 5,8-epoxy-zeino xanthin were also found in the samples from pernambuco . While the Iycopene contents of the north eastern fruits were equal to, or, lower than that found in guava IAC-4. The B­carotene level (5 .5-11.9 flg/g) was higher, corresponding to higher vitamin A values (914-1983 lUll OOg). With respect to vitamin C, the amount detected in guava cultivar IAC-4 was much higher (97.7 mgl I OOg) than that encoun­tered in the north eastern guavas (9.2-52.2 mgll OOg).

The need for the re-evaluation of Vit-A values of food has been emphasized by Klaui and Bauernfeind ( 1981 ). This is especially important in developing countries where vitamin A deficiency is considered a serious nutritional problem. The efforts were made for the better yie ld of juice by enzymic treatment and was found that the con­jugated extract on method (mech/enzymic) was more effective than the conventional one (mech) since it yielded 27 .84 per cent more juice based on guava weight after enzymic action that is very significant for industry (Brasil and Maia, 1996). Ahmed Maqbool et al. (1993) evalu­ated the quality and storage stability of pure and mixed fruit squashes. Combination of citrus or mango enhanced the ascorbic acid content. Chen Meiling Lee et al. ( 1994) made efforts for some possible mechani sms for non­enzymatic browning in guava nectar during storage. Yung and Huang (1992) used different methods for producing clarified guava nectar. Quality deterioration of dehy­drated or candied guava fruits is due to a number of fac­tors including flavour changes, microbial spoilage, non­enzymic browning and ascorbic acid loss during storage. Mehta and Tomar (1980) reported the production of good quality dehydrated guava by steeping in 70" Brix syrup containing I g/kg sulphur dioxide with 6 per cent reten­tion of ascorbic acid.

Mohamed et al. ( 1993) concluded that dehydrated pick­led/candied guava pretreated with 0.24 g/kg cysteine hy­drochloride (cys-HCI) increased ascorbic acid retention and reduced colour change during storage. Candied de­hydrated guava showed less colour change and higher ascorbic acid retention (about 57 per cent) than pickled guava (ascorbic acid retention about 30 per cent). Sen­sory evaluation showed that candied guava pretreated

418 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 JUNE 1999

with 0.24g/kg cys-HCI was generally preferred over the other dehydrated guava products. EI-zoghbi (1994) stud­ied changes during ripening in alc insoluble solid and dietary fibre and found that alc insoluble solid and tex­ture declined rapidly during ripening. The dietary fibre decreased as the fruits lost their firmness and became soft.

A typical analysis ofIndian guava is as follows. Mois­ture 81.7 per cent, protein, 0.9 per cent, fat 0.3 per cent, fibre 5.2 per cent, other carbohydrates 11.2 per cent and mineral matter 0 .7 per cent which includes calcium 10, magnesium 8, Oxalic acid 14, Phosphorus 28, Iron 1.4, Sodium 5.5, Potassium 91, Copper 0.3, Sulphur 14, Chlo­rine 4, Thiamine 0.03 , Riboflavin 0.03 and vitamin (212 mg/lOOg). Vitamin C is found to be highest in skin and the percentage of it decreases in the inner portion. Its value increases with maturity but declines when the fruit is overripe (The wealth of India, 1969). The dietary fi­bre (OF) is present in the outer peel and seeds have 28 per cent cellulose, 46.3 per cent hemicellulose and 25.7 per cent lignin.

Since guava can be cultivated on a variety of soils under varied agro-c1imatic conditions, efforts can be made to propagate guava cultivation on waste lands or marginal lands . On waste lands it can be planted as sole planta­tion or under silvipastora l system. Farmers in the vil­lages and people in the cities should be encouraged to plant guava in their courtyards/homesteads as a nutrient garden. .

Guava Food Products Guava is used in the preparation of guava cheese,

canned guava and guava jelly. Processes have also been developed for drying guavas as such as and as pulp in the form of sheets, and also for the preparation of products such as guava juice and juice powder, guava concentrate, and guava nectar.

Guava Cheese

Guava cheese is prepared from ripe and firm fruits. The fruits are washed and cut into small pieces, boiled in water and the pulp after straining to remove seeds and peels, is mixed with sugar and butter and heated until the mass becomes sufficiently thick. Citric ac id, common salt and colouring matter are added . The whole product is allowed to set and then cut into pieces of attractive shape. It is wrapped in butter paper and stored in a dry clean place. A cold process has also been developed for the preparation of guava cheese using the pulp along with the seeds and peelings .

Guava Jelly

For the preparation of guava jelly, healthy, and rather tart fruits are preferred; they are washed, cut into small pieces, and after the addition of citric acid, boiled in water for about half an hour. The juice is pressed out with a muslin cloth, and examined for the degree of richness in pectin content. It is cooked with an equal quantity of sugar till the resulting jelly boils at 105" C.

Canned Guava

Fully ripe and firm fruits preferably with white flesh and few seeds are chosen for canning. The fruits are peeled with a knife, cut into halves, and the seeds present are scooped out. The peeled cored fruits are kept im­mersed in 1-2 percent common salt solution to prevent browning, and canned in hot sugar syrup containing cit­ric acid. Canned guavas often have a taste and aroma better than those of the fresh fruits . Loss of ascorbic acid during canning amounts to 19.4 per ent. During storage at room temperature (25-30") for 6, 12, and 24 months, the ascorbic acid losses have been recorded to be 10.0, 18.3, and 39.5 per cent, respect i "ely. Effects of blanching and canning by different procedures on ascor­bic acid content of the fruits have also been studied.

Guava Nectar

Pink-fleshed fruits are found particularly suitable for the preparation of guava nectar. The inner pulp is sieved and blended with sugar syrup of IS" Brix and 0.25 per cent acidity, when a nectar type of beverage, having a delicious taste and aroma, is obtained. The yield of guava juice is 65-80 percent on the weight of the whole fruit. The juice can be processed into a powder of high quality. The products are likely to find application in syrups, aer­ated water industry and large scale feeding programmes. Guava paste can be prepared by boiling down the juice until it forms a gel on cooling.

Although a number of food products can be prepared from guava, there is no report on availability of guava products in the market on commercial basis. However, the possibilities of commercialization of guava products can be explored .

Medicinal Value Guava has a number of medicinal properties. The

leaves of guava plant were found to be effective in dia­betic problems (Maruyama et ai., 1985). The narcotic like principle extracted from guava (Psidiwn guajava) leaves was found to effect mice locomotor activity

SHARMA el al. : BIOLOGY AND POTENTIAL OF PSIDIUM CUA JA VA 419

(Lutterodt and Maleque, 1988). A SOper cent e thano lic extract (G-ext) from guava leaves was used in Japan and subtropical zones as a remedy for di abetes (Maruyama et. al. 1985). G-ext (200 mg/kg PO.) was found to in­hibit the increase in plasma level of insulin alloxan in­duced diabetic rats. In the g lucose tolerence test, G-ext was shown to inhibit the increase in plasma sugar level in such diabetic rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg P.O. An­BuOH soluble fraction prepared from G-ext also inhib­ited the increase in plasma sugar level in all oxan-induced diabetic rats (25 or 100 mg/kg PO.). In the g lucose tolerence test thi s fraction inhibited the increase in plasma sugar level in a ll oxan induced di abet ic rats ( 100 mg/kg). A number of workers studied antidiarrhoeal propert ies of guava. Luttterodt ( 1989) tested guava leaf ex tract in the treatme nt of acute diarrh oea l di sease inhibiting gastrointestinal release of acetylcholine by quercetin as a possible mode of ac tion of guava. The antidiarrhoeal activity of the methano lic fraction of extrac t of the un­ripe fruits of Psidium guajava was studied by Ghosh e f al.( 1993). The guava leaves are utili zed in traditi onal medicine of the several latin American countri es for the treatment of the acute diarrhoeic syndrome. The hi sto­logical description of the mature leaves of guava was re­ported by Luna el al. ( 1986).

On the other hand Kochar and Sharma ( 1992) found the effect of dietary fibre (OF) present in outer peel and seeds of guava caus ing non-infec tive degene rati ve dis­eases such as ischaemic heart di seases, diabetes, diver­ticular diseases of colon, cancer of colon and other gastro­intestinal tract . The die tary fibres along with a cabbage and isabgol adversely affected the act ivities of sucrose,

maltase, alk phosphatase which further decreased signifi­cantly with an increase in level of dietary fibre fro m cab­bage and guava when fed to rats (Khokhar, 1994). The leaves both complete or ground, can be rapidl y identi­fied, in order to prevent adulterations or to detect any contamination of medic inal product. C/P rati o in serum is one of th e re liabl e predi ctors of subj ect's risk to hyperlipidemia ischaemic heart di seases and arteri a l/ myocardial damage, a decrease in C/P rati o as ev idenced during guava pulp treatment indicated that dietary fibres of guava pulp are good hypocholesterolemic and/or phos­pholipid lowering agents, whereas isabgol husk fibre were very effective in lowering serum trig lyceride level (Bssumilk, 1994) . Effects of guava intake on serum total and high density lipoprote in , cholesterol levels and on systemic blood pressure was reported by Singh e f al. (1992). Studies on the neuropharmacological effects of

essenti al oils ex trac ted from Psidium. guyanensis and

Psidium pohlianuol! were also conducted by Santosh et al. ( 1996). Guava was found effective in tooth di seases (Touyz and Boutsias, 1985). Santosh ef al. ( 1997) stud­ied the antibacterial activity of essenti al oils from guava species against certain bacte rial strains.

Chemicals from Guava The guava pulp is light yellow or pink. The aroma

impress ion of the fruit is described due to the presence of cinnamyl derivatives, other es ter and sulphur contai n­ing component with aldehydes, alcohols , terpenoids and C derivatives (Hermann , 1994). Several publicati ons aBout guava fruit vo latiles have already been provided . (Nishimura, 1989; Binder and F lath , 1996; Idstei n e f al., 1985). Fresh guava (Psidium guajllva ) fruit pulp was found to contain 154 volatile substances (Idstein and Schreier, 1995). Of which 116 compounds could be de­scribed for the first time as guava fruit constituents. The compounds were identified by capillary gas chromatog­raphy (HRGC) and capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HRGC-MS ). In these fracti ons as well as in the concentrates obtained by liquid-liquid extract ion of the disti lI ation res idues were 4 1 carbony Is, 35 es ters, 25 a lcohol s, 22 hydrocarbons 13 acids , 9 sulphur con­taining compounds and9 substances with mi scellaneous structures. Qualitatively and quantitatively the carbonyls occupy a spec ial pl ace among guava fruit volatiles . Fifty percent of the tota l amount cons ists of aldehydes . Most of them are typ ical products of pre-o x idation of unsatu­rated fatty ac ids.

The second important c lass of vo lat i les consists of es­ters. Among the esters some "exotic" methyl deri vatives have been found remarkable, c g., methyl nicot inooatc, a compound that is not very common among fruit volatiles. The aliphatic alcohols detected in guava fruit pulp ori gi­

nate from fatty acid metaboli sm. Another groups of ho­mogenou s biogenetic origin consists of non-carotenoids, e.g., hypo thetical biodegradation products of hi ghe r terpenes. A further interest ing group, of guava aroma substances, is 3 (2H) - furanones. Their occurrence and importance in various fruit aromas are well known. Fur­thennore, a certain amount of N- and S-heteroatomic com­pounds seems to be characteri stics for the guava aroma. A polyphenol ox idase was extracted from guava Psidium guajava by Augustin el al. ( 1985). Al so six new com­plex tannins. i.e., guaj av ins A and B, Ps idinins A, B and C and psiguaj av ins together with a variety of condensed, hydrolyzable and complex tannins were isolated from the

420 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 JUNE 1999

bark of Psidium guajava (Tanaka et ai. 1992). On the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence, the struc­tures of guajavins and psidinins were established. Simi­larly guavin A, guavin C and guavin D, a complex tannins were isolated (Okuda et 01., 1987). The biochemical sub­stances, i.e., pectinesterase were also extracted from guava (Fayyaz and Asbi, 1993). They extracted pecti­nesterase (PE) from guava fruit and assayed it NaCI con­centration and pH influenced the extraction processes of PE from this fruit. The highest PE extraction value at pH 8.0 with 1.75 M NaCI solution was 2.5 micro equiva­lent COOH/min/ml crude extraction. Work had also been done on the changes of concentrations of different hor­mones like gibberllins, cytokinins and auxins during dif­ferent growth stages of guava. (Nagar and Rao, 1981 a; 198 ! b; 1982; 1983; 1986). Marcelin et al. ( 1992, 1993) extracted water soluble pectic substances from guava.

Acknowledgement Authors are grateful to Departmenr of Science

and Technology (DST), Government of India for finan­

c ial assistance.

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