D. Ollivier et al., DIFFERENCES IN STEROL COMPOSITION AND MIC ROSTRUCTURE BETWEEN FRUITS FROM CUCURBITACEAE AND ROOTS FROM CRUCIFERAE IN CANDYING INDUSTRY AND PRODUCTS, Sciences des aliments, 14(2), 1994, pp. 189-202
The commercial name ''candied Fruit'' usually implies the presence of
fruits from Cucurbitaceae, such as melon or watermelon, as the main in
gredient in the starting material. The end product is occasionaly adul
terated, when these fruits are replaced by roots from Cruciferae. Ster
ols determination and identification and microscopical examination are
of great help in identifying the plant material present in the proces
sing line and the final products. Sterol compositions differ significa
ntly: alpha-spinasterol and delta-7 stigmasterol are the two main comp
onents present in fruits from Cucurbitaceae; campesterol and beta-sito
sterol predominate in roots from Crucifers. Under the microscope, only
reticulated vessels are found in turnip roots; in melon vascular tiss
ues, reticulated vessels are frequently associated with spiral or stri
ped vessels. These features are useful diagnostic aids in the microsco
pic identification of botanical origin.