The Brazilian Caatinga vegetation presents a large variety of vegetal species. However, the potentiality of these species as an important source of nutrients for the human diet is still not so known. Among these species, there is the wild plum (Ximenia americana L.). The present work aimed to characterize the fruits of the wild plum in two ripening stages. The fruits were harvested in the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation next to the Mossoró-RN city, in two ripening stages, green (green rind) and ripe (yellow rind), being 90 fruits for each stage. For the fruit characterization, the following analyses were done: fresh mass, longitudinal and transversal lengths, pulp yield, vitamin C, soluble solids (SS), titritable acidity (TA), pH and ratio SS/TA. The completely randomized design was used with two treatments and six replications of 15 fruits for each part. The wild plum fruit has a round shape, succulent and presents only seed of almond type. Considering the pulp, coloration change occurs, changing from green to yellow color, as the fruit becomes ripe. This fruit is considered rich vitamin C source that can naturally be found in the Brazilian northeastern region, as well as a fruit with high contents of soluble solid and acidity.
Ximenia americana L.; vitamin C; Brazilian Caatinga vegetation
