Innovative approach for the assessment of nutritional potential and heavy metal profile in selected wild edible fruits from the major markets of Sargodha division, Pakistan

In the rural areas of Sargodha division, poor and ethnic communities depend on a variety of wild plants for their own consumption and traditional uses. Despite their role in providing variety for family diet, most of wild edible plants are not assessed for their nutritional potential and heavy metal profiling. Hence, the present study was carried out to scrutinize twelve most significant wild edible fruits from the local markets of Sargodha division, Punjab, Pakistan. The species included were Bauhinia variegata, Capparis decidua, Citrus limon, Cordia dichotoma, Ficus palmata, Ficus racemosa, Mangifera indica, Moringa oleifera, Morus nigra, Phoenix sylvestris, Syzygium cumini and Ziziphus mauritiana. The concentrations of seven different heavy metals, viz., Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni and Zn in fruits samples were analyzed by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Similarly, the nutritional potential of wild fruits through proximate analysis was determined by measuring the contents of moisture (18.4–90.2%), crude protein (0.23–7.79%), crude fat (0.06–4.59%), crude fiber (0.19–33.7%), ash (1.49–9.3%) and nitrogen free extract (47.9–96.7%). Our outcomes uncovered that the metal contents in samples were lower than that detected by different researchers in selected fruits. The layout of total metal contents in fruits was Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cd. The study concludes that investigated samples were value added nutraceuticals with no toxicity, so could be utilized as food wealth and traditional remedies in curing malnutrition in the region.