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Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the years, food scarcity and its uniform distribution have been a big problem faced worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that the world population will be 10 billion in 2050 which will aggravate food shortages, due to less adapted food cultivation options, global warming, draughts, rapid industrialization and urbanization. The paper examines the nutritional information, the phytochemical information, and the antioxidant information of eleven wild edible fruits (WEFs) within the Rosaceae family in the Northern Azad Kashmir in the Western Himalayan region. The fruits were analyzed in different seasons, and their target macronutrient data was different with high and low outliers of high fat content in Rosa brunonii and the highest protein content in Potentilla indica. The screening of phytochemicals identified phenols and flavonoid, anthocyanin and ascorbic acid and the concentration was found. The antioxidant activities were assessed using the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and hydrogen peroxide tests showed high scavenging ability. Findings highlighted the nutritional value and possible health outcomes of WEFs, which implied their importance in dietary diversification and the fight against oxidative stress. The study relates to WEFs towards solving the issue of food shortages in the world, by providing sustainable nutritional resources through the consumption of these dietary reserves. The entire data provided useful information for nutritional scientists by providing insights into new bioactive compounds.

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