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Physical and nutritional characteristics of pods and fruits of some trees at

Northern part of Jordan

Article in Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment · April 2010

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Saed J. Owais Mutassim Abdelrahman

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Meri-Rastilantie 3 B, FI-00980 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.8 (2): 747-750. 2010 www.world-food.net
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Physical and nutritional characteristics of pods and fruits of some trees at Northern
part of Jordan
Saed J. Owais 1* and Mutassim M. Abdelrahman 2
1 2
Department of Plant Production, Department of Animal Production, Mu’tah University, Faculty of Agriculture, P.O. Box 7, Al-
Karak, Jordan. *e-mail: owais@mutah.edu.jo, saedowais@yahoo.com

Received 20 November 2009, accepted 5 April 2010.

Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate the physical and nutritional characteristics of oak (Quercus calliprions) acorns pods, carob (Ceratonia siliqua)
pods, walnut husk, pomegranate peel and barley tibin. Samples were collected from northern part of Jordan and analyzed for dry matter (DM),
inorganic matter (IM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF) and mineral concentrations. In addition, all physical measurements were conducted. Tibin
was used for comparison purposes since it is used as a main source of roughage for livestock in Jordan. Significantly (P<0.001) higher values of DM,
CP and IM were reported in walnut husk compared with tibin and other tree products. Carob pods showed a significantly higher value for the CF
content (45.80%), followed by walnut husk (43.07%) compared with other tested feeds. Moreover, oak acorn pods can be considered as a good
source of protein (8.04%) which is significantly higher when compared with tibin. Magnesium, P and Ca concentrations in tibin and walnut husk were
significantly higher compared with other tested tree products. The Cu, Co and P concentrations in walnut husk were significantly higher compared
with other tibin and other tree products. On the other hand, the fresh weight of pomegranate peels and walnut husk were 32.54 and 7.70 g, comprising
about 35 and 40% of the total fresh fruit weight of the two crops, respectively. Pod weights of carob tree and oak were 6.36 and 8.01g, respectively.
In conclusion, all above pods and fruit husks or peels of these trees, especially walnut husks, can efficiently be used as a livestock supplement to fill
the gap of these dietary shortages in Jordan especially during the dry season. Further research is needed to evaluate the digestion and utilization of
these trees pods and fruits by farm animals.

Key words: Nutritive value, oak acorns, carob, walnut, pomegranate, tibin.

Introduction
The interest with oak acorns, walnut, carob and pomegranate are
raising in Jordan due to their large availability. The tentative number
of oak trees in Jordan might exceed the number of olive trees.
Probably exceeding 15 millions based on an estimated forest area
of 50,000 ha and an estimated density of 300 trees per ha 1, and
knowing that the estimated annual productivity of oak tree
averages 10 kg, the estimated oak acorn production may reach
about 150,000 metric tons 2. Carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua L.)
are abundant in Jordanian forests and have a vast economic
potential 3. The two main carob varieties in Jordan are macrocarpa,
which is edible and consumed by humans for its sweet taste, and
siliqua which usually has smaller pods and is not as sweet as
macrocarpa. Moreover, pomegranate is widely cultivated
successfully throughout Mediterranean region including Jordan.
According to taste, pomegranate is classified into three groups:
sour, sour-sweet and sweet. Jordan produced about 5756 tons of
pomegranate fruits in area of 1030 ha 4. Walnut is limitedly
distributed in Jordan, although it has a high economic value and
almost all Jordan needs are imported from other countries, however,
it is a widely distributed tree in Mediterranean countries such as
Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq 5.
In Jordan, livestock are the key to security for many smallholder
farmers. The shortage in dietary nutrients as a result of low rainfall
resulting in a decline in rangeland resources, which are insufficient
to meet the current demand and nutrient requirement of the grazing
livestock, coupled with a fall in total feed resources due to
overgrazing, ploughing of marginal lands and soil erosion.
Consequently, livestock is facing serious nutrient shortages. For
this reason, alternative feed resource such as tree fruits and pods
must be considered as an alternative feed supplement during dry
season. The use of tree fruits and pods supplement has been
evaluated by many researchers 6-8. Generally, most findings support
the idea of using trees fruits by-products as a feed supplement to
livestock with varied response on livestock productivity which
depends on their nutritive values.
Because of that, this study was conducted to evaluate the
nutritive value and physical characteristics of oak acorns pods,
carob pods, walnut husk, pomegranate peel and barley tibin for a
comparison purposes.
Materials and Methods
Sample collection: About five kg of mature pods were collected
from oak acorns (Quercus calliprions) and siliqua carob
(Ceratonia siliqua) and about 10 kg of walnut (Juglans spp.)
fruits and pomegranate (Punica granatum) from about 20 trees.
All samples were collected from Ajloun location in the Northern
part of Jordan (representing the major location of oak, siliqua
carob, walnut and pomegranate trees). The samples were collected
three times at two-week time intervals.

Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (2), April 2010 747
Physical measurements: The whole oak acorns consisting of
cupule, coat and cotyledon were prepared for this study. An
average of three replications of oak acorn length (cm) and weight
(g) were recorded. Acorn weight was partitioned into cupule weight
(g), coat weight (g) and cotyledon weight (g) and were calculated
and recorded.
One to two kg of mature pods was collected from siliqua carob
trees. For siliqua carob, physical measurements were taken as
follows: pod width (cm), thickness (cm), number of seeds per pod,
pod weight (g) and pod length (cm). The pod was cut open and
the number of seeds was recorded.
For pomegranate and walnut fruits, only fruit weight and the
weight and thickness of peel and husk were measured, respectively.
Furthermore, the separated walnut husk and pomegranate peels
were also used to determine their nutritive values.
Samples preparation for nutrients and mineral analysis: All
samples were ground and analyzed for dry matter (DM %), crude
protein percentage (CP %), crude fiber (CF %) and inorganic matter
(IM %) according to the methodology of AOAC 9. Results were
presented as dry matter basis. The ground pods and fruits husk
and pomegranate peel samples were dried and wet digested by
acids according to AOAC 9 for copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese
(Mn), cobalt (Co) and magnesium (Mg) analysis by atomic
absorption spectrophotometery (AAS). Calcium (Ca) and
phosphorus (P) were analyzed by using spectrophotometer.
Results of mineral concentrations were represented as wet (W)
and dry (D) weight of samples. All analyses were performed using
pomegranate peel and walnut husk as well as the whole fruits of
oak acorn and siliqua carob.
Statistical analysis: Data regarding the nutritive values and mineral
concentrations of trees pod, fruit husks and peels were analyzed
by using SPSSTM version (10.0) by one-way ANOVA. The protected
LSD test was used to determine differences among measurements
compared with barley tibin as a main source of roughages for
livestock 10. Differences were considered statistically significant
at P < 0.05 level.
Results and Discussion
Physical characteristics: The results obtained for pomegranate
fresh fruits weight and peel thickness were 93.0 g and 0.41 cm,
respectively. In this study, the percentage of peel in the whole
fruit in pomegranate was 35% (Table 1). In similar studies on
pomegranate genotypes, the fruit weight ranges were 265-462 g11,
196.1-673.6 g 12 and 164.89-375.76 g 13 which is higher than the
results reported in this study (93.0 g). In literature, the peel
percentage fluctuates considerably among genotypes with a
maximum of 62.01% and minimum of 10% 11-13. Barone et al. 11
reported peel thickness for pomegranate ranging from 0.35 to 0.59
Table 1. Some physical characteristics of pomegranate and walnut fruits
used in this study.
Trait Pomegranate Trait
Fruit weight (g) 93.00 ± 5.22 Fruit weight (g)
Fresh peel weight (g) 32.54 ±3.64 Fresh husk weight (g)
Peel % 35.0 Husk %
Peel thickness (cm) 0.41±0.10 Husk thickness (cm)
Values are the average of five replicates ± standard deviation.
748
cm which agreed with our findings in term of fresh peel weight
(35%) and thickness (0.42 cm).
The average fruit fresh weight and husk thickness in walnut
genotype used in this study were 7.7 g and 0.49 cm, respectively,
where the husk comprised about 40% of the total walnut fruit
fresh weight (Table 1). In accordance, Zeneli et al. 14 found high
level of variability in walnut fruit and husk weight ranging from
1.85 to 9.8 g and from 28.5 to 58%, respectively.
The fruit physical properties of siliqua carob tree are shown in
Table 2. In siliqua carob, pod width, pod thickness, number of
seeds per pod, pod weight and pod length were 2.28 cm, 0.44 cm,
6.00, 6.36 g and 8.24 cm, respectively. These results are in line with
Shawakfeh and Ereifej 15 who recorded values of 2.00 cm, 0.40 cm,
6.6, 6.2 g and 8.50 cm for pod width, pod thickness, number of
seeds/pod, pod weight and pod length, respectively. Moreover,
the pod weight values agree with those reported by Marakis 3 and
Mitrakos 16 for some Greek carob; in some genotypes pod length,
pod width and pod weight reached 25 cm, 4 cm and 5-30 g,
respectively.
In Quercus calliprions, fruit length, whole fruit weight with
cupule, coat weight and cotyledon weight were 3.88 cm, 8.01 g,
6.30 g, 1.58 g, 1.80 g and 5.5 g, respectively. According to Rababah
et al. 17, Q. calliprions acorns are smaller than those of Q.
ithaburensis; fruit length, whole fruit weight, fruit weight, cupule
weight, coat weight and cotyledon weight of Q. calliprions were
3.4 cm, 7.8 g, 6.5 g, 1.3 g, 1.6 g and 4.9 g, respectively.
Nutritive values: Table 3 shows the nutritive values of barley
tibin, oak acorns pods, carob pods, walnut husk and pomegranate
peel. Tibin was used for comparison purposes since use as a main
source of roughage for livestock in Jordan. A significantly
(P<0.001) higher values of DM, CP and IM were reported in walnut
husk when compared with barley tibin and other tree products.
Carob pods showed a significantly higher value for the CF content
(45.80%), followed by walnut husk (43.07%) when compared with
other tested feeds as shown in Table 3. Moreover, oak acorn pods
can be considered as a good source of protein (8.04%) which is
significantly higher when compared with barley tibin, but lower
when compared with walnut husks. Moreover, the inorganic matter
of pomegranate peel, oak acorn pods and carob pods were
significantly different from each other and lower compared with
the barley tibin and walnut husk (Table 3).
The fiber content of Jordanian carob pods were found to be
significantly higher when compared with the values reported by
Shawakfeh and Ereifej 15 and Marakis 3, but agreed with the values
reported by Amaral-Collaco et al. 18 who reported higher fiber
content for the Portuguese carob (27.6-35.2%). Moreover, for ash
content in carob, Shawakfeh and Ereifej 15 reported a higher value
(3.4%) which disagreed with our results (1.83). On the other hand,
Avallone et al. 19 reported significant differences in ash and protein
Walnut
12.83±0.30
7.70±0.10
40
0.49±0.04
Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (2), April 2010
Table 2. Mean values of the physical measurements of pods of siliqua carob
tree and Quercus calliprions.
Trait Siliqua carob Trait Quercus
calliprions
Pod width (cm) 2.28±0.192 Fruit length (cm) 3.88±0.79
Pod thickness (cm) 0.44±0.119 Whole fruit weight (g) 8.01±0.35
No. of seeds per pod 6.00±1.581 Fruit weight (g) 6.30±0.84
Pod weight (g) 6.36±0.611 Cupule weight (g) 1.58±0.66
Pod length (cm) 8.24±0.559 Coat weight (g) 1.80±0.57
- - Cotyledon weight (g) 5.50±1.00
Values are the average of five replicates ± standard deviation.

Table 3. The nutritive values on dry matter basis for pods and fruits of selected trees in
Northern part of Jordan.
Plant Tibin Walnut Pomegranate Oak Siliqua SEM Significancy
husk peel acorn carob
DM% 88.71a 96.63b 91.34c 73.20d 82.29e 2.16 ***
Crude protein% 7.33a 10.66b 5.48c 8.04d 4.14e 0.6 ***
Inorganic % 11.90a 15.99b 3.88c 2.92d 1.83e 1.5 ***
Crude fiber% 22.17a 43.07b 38.14c 26.31d 45.82e 5.04 ***
Values followed by the same letter in the same row are not significant with P>0.05. * P <0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P <0.001, SEM= Standard error of
means.

percentages according to the locations of collected carob samples
with an average of 3±2% for ash and 3±2.1% for protein which
agreed with our results.
For oak acorn nutritive values, Rababah et al. 17 found that
various acorn parts were rich in fiber (13.11 to 51.7%), ash (1.73 to
3.21), as well as some minerals such as Na, K and P. Moreover,
they reported poor values for protein content (2.08 to 4.94%), fat
(0.76 to 3.52%) and minerals. In our study, the ash percentage in
oak coat values (2.92%) and fiber (26.31%) fall within the above
reported ranges, but the protein content (8.04%) was higher than
reported. Martin et al. 20 reported lower protein (4%) and fiber
(2%) for the wild red oak when compared with our results. The
variation in these nutritive values of oak may be due to oak
genotype, soil type and environmental effects.
Mineral composition: In this study, the major (Ca, P and Mg) and
trace (Cu, Zn, Mn and Co) mineral concentrations in barley tibin,
oak acorns pods, carob pods, walnut husk and pomegranate peel
as wet (W) and dry (D) weight were determined. There were no
significant differences in Zn concentrations as wet and dry weight
for barley tibin and other trees’ pods and coats. Magnesium, P
and Ca concentration in tibin and walnut husk were significantly
higher compared with other tested tree products. The Cu, Co and
P (wet and dry weight) concentrations in walnut husk were
significantly higher compared with the barley tibin and other trees’
pods and coats with no differences between them. Moreover,
calcium concentrations in barley tibin and walnut husk were
significantly higher compared with concentrations in pomegranate
peel, oak and carob pods (Table 4). No significant differences

Table 4. Mineral concentration (µg/g) as wet (W) and dry (D) weight of selected trees pods and
fruits at Northern part of Jordan.
Plant Tibin Walnut Pomegranate Oak acorn Siliqua carob SEM Significancy
husk peel
Zn W 9.96 11.64 7.36 6.41 5.19 0.88 NS
Zn D 10.65 12.21 7.88 7.46 6.25 0.91 NS
Mg W 579.67a 560.15a 314.64b 355.82b 337.15b 31.69 ***
Mg D 643.25a 583.59a 343.09b 451.8b 409.34b 31.25 ***
Cu W 6.15a 13.38b 5.56a 5.43a 4.01a 0.95 ***
Cu D 6.78a 13.99b 6.04a 7.41a 4.81a 0.95 ***
Co W 8.62a 16.51b 4.17a 5.28a 2.84a 1.48 ***
Co D 9.33a 17.36b 4.72a 7.17a 3.19a 1.54 **
Mn W 25.21a 9.5b 2.98cc 2.82c 2.45c 2.51 ***
Mn D 28.41a 10.24b 3.42c 4.33c 2.89c 2.79 ***
PW 23.36a 52.21b 30.71c 30.97c 18.8a 3.15 ***
PD 27.5ad 53.95b 33.33a 36.78c 22.44d 3.05 ***
Ca W 9979.09a 8245.19a 2223.48b 1634.29b 1842.25b 1043.4 ***
Ca D 11453.83a 9653.28a 2475.96b 1954.38b 2213b 1125.9 **
Values followed by the same letter in the same row are not significant with P>0.05.
* P <0.05.
** P<0.01.
*** P <0.001.
SEM= Standard error of means.

Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (2), April 2010 749
 were detected for Mn concentration in pomegranate peel, oak 11
Barone, E., Carusot, T., Marra, F. P. and Sottile, F. 2001. Preliminary
acorn and carob pods with significantly lower values when observations on some sicilian pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)
compared with barley tibin and walnut husk, but the Mn varieties. Journal American Pomological Society 55:4-7.
12
concentration in tibin was significantly higher compared with Mars, M. and Marrakchi, M. 1999. Diversity of pomegranate (Punica
walnut husk. Unfortunately, a very limited data were reported in granatum L.) germplasm in Tunisia. Sci. Hortic. 115:231-237.
13
Sarkhosh, A., Zamani, Z., Fatahi, R. and Ranjbar, H. 2009. Evaluation
the literature regarding the mineral contents in these trees pods,
of genetic diversity among Iranian soft-seed pomegranate accessions
fruit and coats for comparison purposes. by fruit characteristics and RAPD markers. Sci. Hortic. 121:313-319.
A lower values for Ca and P concentration in carob pods were 14
Zeneli, G., Kola, H. and Dida, M. 2005. Phenotypic variation in native
found in this study when compared with Ayaz et al. 21 and Morton22. walnut population of northern Albania. Sci. Hortic. 105:91-100.
Moreover, the trace minerals (Cu, Zn and Mn) concentrations in 15
Shawakfeh, K. Q. and Ereifej, K. I. 2005. Pod characteristics of two
carob pods showed a similar trend when compared with the study Ceratonia siliqua L. varieties from Jordan. Itl. J. Food Sci. 17:187-
of Ayaz et al. 21. 194.
16
For oak acorn coat, Rababah et al. 17 reported non-detectable Mitrakos, K. 1987. The botany of Ceratonia. In Fito, P. and Mulet, A.
levels of Zn and Mn which disagreed with our findings with Zn (eds.). Proceedings of the II International Carob Symposium. Valencia,
Spain, 209 p.
(7.64 µg/g DM) and Mn (4.33 µg/g DM). A higher Cu concentration 17
Rababah, T. M., Ereifej, K. I., Al-Mahasneh, M. A., Alhamad, M. N.,
(7.41 µg/g) was detected in the oak acorn samples when compared Alrababah, M. A. and Mohammad, A. H. 2008. The physiochemical
with levels of Rababah et al. 17 with values ranging from 0.20 to composition of acorn for two Mediterranean Quercus species. Jordan
3.60 µg/g on DM basis, but the values of P concentration (36.78 Journal of Agricultural Sciences 4:131-137.
µg/g) falls within the range reported by them (21.4 to 58.37 µg/g). 18
Amaral-Collaco, M. T., Roseiro, J. I., Avlino, G. A. and Teixera, H.
It is very important to mention that in the absence of information 1987. The quality of sugar content of two Portuguese carob varieties.
on factors such as soil type, season etc more detailed scientific Their influence on the technological transformation. In Fito, P. and
comparison is not possible. Mulet, A. (eds). Proceedings of the II International Carob Symposium.
Valensia, Spain, p.11.
19
Avallone, R., Plessi, M., Balraldi, M. and Monzani, A. 1997.
Conclusions
Determination of chemical composition of carob (Ceratonia siliqua
All walnut husks, oak acorn pods, pomegranate peels and carob L.): Protein, fat, carbohydrates, and tannins. J. Food Compos. Anal.
pods, especially walnut husks, can efficiently be used as a 10:166-172.
livestock supplement to fill the gap of these dietary shortages in 20
Martin, G. R., Gross, J., Piez, K. A. and Lewis, M. S. 1961. On the
Jordan during the dry season. Further research is needed to intramolecular cross-linking of collagen in lathyritic rats. Biochim.
evaluate the digestion, absorption and utilization of these trees Biophys. Acta 53:599-601.
21
pods and fruits coats by farm animals using in vitro or in vivo Ayaz, F. A., Torun, H., Ayaz, S., Correia, P. J., Alaiz, M., Sanz, C.,
technique. Gruz, J. and Strnan, M. 2007. Determination of chemical composition
of Anatolian carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L.): Sugars, amino and organic
acids, minerals and phenolic compounds. J. Food Quality 30:1040-
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