Nutritional characterization and identification of sweet tamarind (<i>Tamarindus indica</i> L.) accessions from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract This study aimed to explore the genetic variability present in tamarind fruits. A survey and collection of twenty-nine tamarind accessions from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh was conducted, focusing on morphological traits, biochemical properties, and mineral content. The analysis revealed significant variation in fruit characteristics, including pod weight (91.1–528.3 g), pod length (4.11–15.39 cm), pulp weight (32.88–275.68 g), number of seeds (26–237), seed weight (23.14–214.08 g), pulp percentage (26.43–52.18%), vitamin C content (54.5–92 mg/100 g), phenolic content (51.53–296.4 mg GAE/g fw), flavonoid content (75.91–280.88 mg QE/ 100 g fw), acidity (5.3–12.60%), reducing sugars (24.67–68.29%), total sugars (24.89–78.87%), calcium (0.15–1.28%), and iron content (26.6–125.7 ppm) across different accessions. Based on the overall evaluation, five accessions B21, B26, B15, B25, and B7 with the best combination of desirable fruit traits, were identified as the most promising. Additionally, five sweet accessions with acidity levels below 6% were identified (B26, B21, B15, B12, B11). Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, identifying five principal components that accounted for 86.73% of the total variability. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between pod weight and pulp weight ( r = 0.93), shell weight ( r = 0.70), number of seeds ( r = 0.89), and seed weight ( r = 0.89). The biplot of PC1 and PC2 illustrated the distribution of accessions across all four quadrants, with B27, B8, B26, B29, B14, B18, and B13 displaying distinct differences from one another.