A comparison of the morphological characteristics, physiochemical, nutrients, and antioxidative activities of four genotypes of jackfruits (Artocarpus heterophyllus) located in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

• Four varieties of jackfruits in Mekong Delta, Vietnam were comparatively studied. • Morphology, nutrients, and bioactive properties of the four jackfruits differed. • “To Nu” had less peel, pulp, and a large proportion of rags. • “Nghe” contained the highest TPC and antioxidant activity. • “Ruot do” was the richest in vitamins A, C, B 1 , and B 2 . • “Thai” contained moderate total sugar, dietary fiber, and protein contents. Jackfruits ( Artocarpus heterophyllus ) have been widely grown in the Southwest region of Vietnam for domestic and international consumption. However, a lack of information on the characteristics of jackfruit genotypes in the Mekong Delta provinces has existed. Thus, this study aimed to examine the morphological characteristics, physicochemical, nutritional composition, and antioxidative activities of four genotypes of jackfruits locally known as “Thai”, “To Nu”, “Nghe”, and “Ruot do”. The percentage of pulp and seed of “Thai” was 38.82±1.01% and 14.99±0.01%, respectively. The a* and b* values illustrated that the pulp of “Ruot do” possessed an orange-red color, while the remaining three jackfruit genotypes had a bright yellow. The fruit pulp of “Thai” contained high nutritional compositions including total sugars (22.54±0.5%), ash (1.00%), dietary fiber (3.33±0.10%), and protein (1.75±0.05%), but had higher moisture content and lower total soluble solids than those of “Nghe”, “Ruot do”, and “To Nu”. Both “Thai” and “Ruot do” contained high amounts of minerals (calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus) and vitamins (A, C, B 1 , and B 2 ). "Nghe" and "To nu" contained the highest amount of total phenolic content and total flavonoid content, which were 6.91±0.65 mg GAE/g and 30.45±3.75 mg QE/100g, respectively. “Nghe” also showed the highest antioxidant activities in terms of IC 50 of DPPH and FRAP (48.74±0.63 µg/mL and 48.70±0.83 µg/mL, respectively). This information is essential for selecting the proper jackfruit genotype used in food products.