Chemical and biological properties of Cydonia oblonga L. flour: a concurrent review

ABSTRACT

Although quince may be the finest source of dietary fiber, it has recently been recognized that eating a healthy diet has considerable health advantages. It has a long history of usage in traditional medicine and ethnobotany and is native to the Mediterranean area and Central Asia. Its fruit has hard, bitter, and astringency of the flesh therefore its use are rare. Heat treatment affects the organoleptic and therapeutic properties. The antioxidant, antibacterial, antihemolytic, aphrodisiac, antiallergic, and anti-diabetic properties of C. oblonga flour are well documented. It is a reliable and reasonably priced natural metabolites with unique biological characteristics. The metabolic characteristics and biological ability of this species have been extensively studied. Particularly, quince leaves show promise as a natural supplier of biologically active phytonutrients and are appropriate for use in the food and drug industries. It is primarily produced for fruits and acts as a pear root. The present review highlights the chemical and biological properties of quince fruit flour in detail.

Keywords:

• Quince
• Phytochemical
• Therapeutic
• Nutritional
• Health-endorsing

Introduction

Quince, also known as Cydonia oblonga L. is a member of the Rosaceae family and is commonly used for its medicinal, horticultural, and nutraceutical applications^[1]]. In Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa, the plant is extensively cultivated as a medicine and food plant.^[2] In certain regions, including Argentina, the entire fruit is cooked after it has been crushed, and the solid contents are then filtered through several sieves.^[3] Quince fruit flour is regarded as a significant source of organic acids, fiber, phenolics, sugars, and minerals like calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. It also has a low-fat content. Owing to these health-endorsing ingredients, quince extract has historically been utilized for both therapeutic and nutritional purposes.^[4] They also include substances that have antioxidant and functional properties, with phenolic compounds playing the most significant role. Because of its hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties, quince fruit flour intake is associated with health.^[5,6] Furthermore, it is well-known for the numerous therapeutic properties recorded in various traditional medical systems. Quince fruit, for example, has long been utilized to control diabetes, hemolysis, urinary problems, ulcers, and respiratory ailments.^[1] It is referred to as Tib e Nabvi in a certain Holy Prophet (PBUH) Ahadees that discuss its health advantages (Prophetic medicine). He said, “Eat the Al Safarjal (the Arabic word for quince) because it can treat cardiac conditions and relieve chest pain.” He also said that the consumption of quince makes breath good and strengthens the heart in another instance.^[5] Additionally, a number of recent research studies reported that quince fruit extract has a diversity of pharmacological properties, including, an antiinflammatory action, anti-oxidant activity, chemo-preventive action, defensive effect against gastric ulcers, anti-colitis effect, antihypertensive effect, and aphrodisiac effect,^[7] and hypolipidemic action. Based on the research, the plant is an important supplier of phenolic chemicals and has been used historically for a long time utilized to cure a variety of ailments, making it an important medicinal agent.^[8] In order to raise consumer awareness of the benefit of quince flour, the current review’s objectives are to highlight the fruit’s nutritional significance including its therapeutic effects.

Chemical composition of C. oblonga FLOUR

Quince fruit flour is low in calories, carbs, fats, and proteins and rich source.^[9] The quince flour has 81.20% humidity, and additional physiochemical constituents include protein (0.50 to 0.71 g/100 g), total lipids (0.21 to 2.40 g/100 g), total fibers (1.10% to 2.60%), starch (7.30 g/100 g), total sugars (10.90 g/100 g), total ashes (0.53 0.70 g/100 g), pectin (12.67 g per 100 g). The fruit also has an elevated ascorbic acid content.^[10] In quince flour, sugars make up the majority of carbohydrates. The fruit has an about overall sugar concentration of 9% and a concentration of reducing sugars of about 5%.^[5] Fruit contains L-arabinose, D-glucose, rhamnose, mannose, and galactose as monosaccharides. Fructose, sucrose, and glucose are the three major sugars recognized in quince. Quince is considered a low-fat, fruit that is low in calories and is said to be more nutritious than apples. Quince contains a 0.1 g/100 g fat concentration. Oleic acid and linoleic-acid play key roles in quince’s fatty acid composition, and quince flour is relatively rich in sulfur also. In 100 g of quince fruit, its content was 25.76 mg. Quince fruit can also serve as an additional source of unique trace elements for the human body, such as selenium, molybdenum, lithium, zirconium, cobalt, titanium, and chromium.^[11] The fruit may be ingested as a useful source of health-improving vitamins including B and A complex (riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, thiamin), K, and E in combination to become a source of energy (48–57 kcal) (Table 1).^[12]

Table 1. Chemical composition of quince flour.

Components	Values	References
Total sugars	9%	^[Citation6,Citation13]
Vitamin C	16.8%
Crude fiber	1.6%
Ashes (g/100 g)	0.53 to 0.70%
Total Pectin	1.8%
Moisture (%)	76.50 to 81.20%
proteins(g/100g)	0.47 to 0.71%
lipids(g/100g)	0.21 to 2.40%
Reducing sugars	5%

Protein

There were 21 amino acids that are in the free form found in quince fruit flour, with glutamic, aspartic, and asparagine being the three most prevalent. The D-glucopyranosyl (1–6) -D-glucopyranoside, as well as D-glucopyranoside of the -D-gentiobioside (3 R) Cydonia oblonga flour contains −3-hydroxy-ionone, which was extracted and identified.^[14] Additionally, amino acids show a variety of health-promoting properties, including the ability to improve digestion, protect against arteriosclerosis and diabetic mellitus, and prevent cardiovascular disease (Table 2).^[15]

Table 2. Amino acid content of quince flour Source^[16].

Amino Acids	Value(μg/kg)
Lysine	38
Asparagine	130.6
Phenylalanine	13.3
Glutamic Acid	84.7
Isoleucine	70.2
Glycine	177.9
Aspartic Acid	163.7

Bioactive component

Oliveira et al.^[17] quince fruit flour has drawn a lot of interest because it contains phytonutrients like phenolic acids and flavonoids that have a crucial impact on the mitigation and treatment of many disorders. Due to the wide variety of phytochemicals, Quince fruit is used as a functional food. It is containing a wide range of bioactive components such as vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols, valuable minerals, and amino acids. The nutritional composition of this God-gifted fruit was enhanced by treating it with heat, therefore it can be used in many homemade products.^[18]

Phenolic content of C. oblonga flour

Quince flour has a phenolic concentration that ranges from 0.2 to 1.7 g/kg. The majority of phenolic compounds are caffeoylquinic acids, the most prevalent of which is, 5-O-caffeoylquinic-acid. Furthermore, 4-O-caffeoylquinic-acid was also discovered in quince pulp in earlier investigations,^[14] though in very low quantities. It contains large levels of hydroxycinnamic derivatives, which are primarily distinguished by polymeric procyanidins and 3- and 5-caffeoylquinic acids. Specifically, p-coumaric acid and 5-caffeoylquinic/3-caffeoylquinic acids (Chlorogenic acid) were shown to be the most abundant ingredients in this family. Ferulic acid, 4-O-glucoside 4-O-glucosides of 3,5-diferuloylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, feruloylquinic acid, and sinapoyl quinic acid.^[19] In addition to their other characteristics, these chemicals also exhibit antioxidative and antiproliferative effects. Furthermore, they are crucial for figuring out how astringent foods taste.

Flavonoids content

Rather et al.^[20] found that quince fruit itself includes antioxidants that are well-known including caffeoylquinic acid (79.6 mg/kg) and rutin (5.5 mg/kg), whereas the skin is an excellent source of caffeoylquinic acid (291.6 mg/kg) as well as other significant flavonoids like kaempferol 3-glucoside (92.9 mg/g) and kaempferol-3-rutinoside (61.1 mg/g). Brahem et al.^[21] described that the quince also included monomeric flavonols with concentrations of 0.46–1.81 mg/g of quercetin-3–0-rutinoside. Several flavonoids, including 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid, phenolic acid, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (rutin), quercetin-3-O-galactoside, and kaempferol-3-O-glycoside were discovered in a Tunisian quince leaf methanol extract extract. Furthermore, rutin (36%) was the flavonoid identified in its leaves at the highest concentration.^[22]

Health benefits of quince flour

Reduce oxidative stress

Quince fruits’ antioxidant properties are mostly linked to the occurrence of substances including flavonoids and phenolics. Fruits include antioxidants that scavenge free radicals that might cause diseases including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues as well as other degenerative and associated human conditions. The majority of antioxidant activity is produced by the breakdown of the chain and the transformation of free radicals into stable chemical entities. Because they function as cofactors for a number of antioxidative enzymes, the minerals found in fruits flour also aid in reducing free radicals.^[23] The polycyclic components (catechins, procyanidins, and flavonols) as well as aromatic nonpolycyclic components (like phloridzin derivatives and caffeic acid), both of which are known for its antioxidant action, were taken into consideration when grouping the phenolic constituents based on their chemical structure. The fruit can be regarded a significant polyphenols extraction source because of the elevated phenolic concentration of quince pulps, which is an essential indicator for quince as an antioxidant source and is similar to other sources of antioxidant in nature that are quite well recognized like berry-fruits.^[24] Furthermore, it has been said that flavonoids may improve myocardial ischemia tolerance or resistance to reperfusion damage by reducing the production of hazardous reactive species of oxygen. Free radicals are more stable and less harmful in their form as flavonoids. Additionally, they have the ability to chelate Fe²⁺ and neutralize free radical impacts. During ischemia-reperfusion in the rat, quercetin had a protective effect by preventing the decline of the xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase ratio. In oxidative tissue damage, the xanthine oxidase enzyme, which is produced from dehydrogenase, is a source of reactive oxygen species. There has been research describing how flavonoids reduce the action of xanthine oxidase. By acting as antioxidants, flavonoids may be crucial in preventing LDL from oxidizing and increasing atherogenicity. A contrary relationship between flavonoid consumption and cholesterol in plasma was discovered in a Japanese investigation. Thus, flavonoids may have an impact on disease states where lipid peroxidation products are present.^[25] Magalhaes et al.^[26]extracted polyphenols of quince fruit seed methanolic-extract, HPLC/UV is used to separate the peel and pulp, and assessed their free radical scavenging efficiency using the 2,2”-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test to demonstrate the antioxidant properties of extracts, particularly for inhibiting human erythrocyte reactive hemolysis caused by 2,2-azobis (2-amidinoprop (AAPH). Due to erythrocyte endogenous antioxidants, there was a 2-hour delay. Peel and pulp extracts had IC50 values of 695 and 652 mg/ml, correspondingly, after 3 hours of incubation. As reference compounds, the group used the radical-scavenging capacities of 5-O-caffeoylquinic-acid and ascorbic-acid. The relative EC50 values for the seed, pulp, and peel were 12.2, 0.8, and 0.6 mg/ml of methanolic extract. In this investigation, the seed extract’s EC50 value was greater than that of a prior study’s (2 g/ml) in. This finding may be the result of natural variation, fruit ripeness, and edapho-climatic circumstances.^[27] Ascorbic acid and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid both have free radical scavenging capabilities with EC50 values of 8.1 and 15.1 g/ml, correspondingly. Taking into account the extracts” total caffeoylquinic acid concentration, which is 0.8, 2.6, and 1.5 g/ml for the seed, peel, and pulp, respectively. While, seed extract had substantially lower anti-oxidative action when compared to pulp and peel extracts (EC50 of 12.2 mg/ml compared to 0.8 and 0.6 mg/ml, respectively), both showed similar free radical-scavenging actions of DPPH. Therefore, pulp and peel extracts shown considerable antioxidant capacity and higher protection from hemolysis, the erythrocyte membrane than seed extract in a duration and concentration dependent method under the oxidative activity of AAPH. The extracts’ potent antioxidant properties were substantially greater than typical antioxidants, which might be attributed to the synergistic and additive actions of phytonutrients. The antioxidant activity and the Caffeoylquinic-acid concentration of the extracts were linked (r = 0.989). Total phenolic compounds had a correlation value of 0.913 with antioxidant activity, which is in line with the prior theory regarding the greater contributions of caffeic acid derivatives to the anti-oxidant action of quince fruit flour.^[26] In fact, the DPPH assay results showed that quince extracts had a greater level of radical scavenging activity than reference substances such rutin and procyanidin B₂, with an EC50 value of 0.7 g/mL. The basic methanolic extract of the fruit was shown to have less antioxidant activity than the phenolic component of the quince. It shows that the ability of the quince fruit and jam to scavenge radicles is more reflected by the phenolic component than by other compounds. The antioxidant properties of quince were compared to those of green-tea using the Folin-Ciocalteu test, the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, and the potential to prevent the 2,2′-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride-induced reactive hemolysis of erythrocytes. Quince leaf extract’s primary phenol 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid substantially exceeded green tea in terms of reduction power. Quince leaf extract protects against radicles or treats them.^[28]

Anti-allergic

Both in vivo and in vitro tests on quince flour extract’s antialergic properties have been conducted. After applying extract concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 g/mL in cultured cells, there was a noticeable decrease in the release of -hexosaminidase. As a result, after three weeks, the amount of atopic dermatitis marks on the head, neck, nose, mice’s face, and dorsal skin in the comparing the treated and control groups was significantly lower. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in rats treated with 5% hot water extract were lowered to 994 205 ng/mL from 1635 289 ng/mL in the control group Silva et al..^[30]

Antimicrobial

An ethanolic extracts of quince seeds was shown to be antibacterial versus Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, and Staphylococcus aureus epidermidis in a test. Gram-positive bacteria seem to be more sensitive to the antibacterial activities of Cydonia oblonga seeds than Gram-negative bacteria. Tannins are responsible for this antibacterial action.^[30] Because tannins have been shown to prevent the growth of germs by causing microbial proteins to precipitate and depriving them of necessary protein Quince (Cydonia oblonga) fruit extracts in aqueous acetone were assessed by Fattouch et al..^[31] They examined the extracts’ capacity to repel different types of bacteria. Quince peel extract showed promise as a bactericide with minimal inhibiting and bactericidal polyphenols contents in the region of 102–5 × 103 microg/mL Alizadeh et al.^[32] designed a work. This research objective was to assess Cydonia oblonga’s antifungal effects on Aspergillus niger. The outcomes unmistakably demonstrated that quince fruit flour extracts can stop A. niger from growing. Additionally, C. oblonga ethnologic extract performed better than acetonic extracts. They came to the conclusion that extracts of Cydonia oblonga can effectively inhibit Aspergillus niger. Alizadeh et al.^[33] also carried out comparable research to assess the antifungal properties of quince fruit flour (Figure 1).

Figure 1. depicts the functional and nutraceutical properties of quince.

Anti-inflammatory

The anti-allergic and antiinflammatory properties of phenolics from quince fruit peeling were explored after lipopolysaccharide induced inflammation in the human THP-1 cell line (LPS). By encouraging the secretion of interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 from mast cells, C. oblonga fruit peeling extract greatly reduced the synthesis of inflammatory agents like interleukins (IL-8) and cytokines (TNF-α). The research also made use of the fact that LPS could not activate pro-inflammatory effector cells when quince peel polyphenolic extract was present.^[34] Ahmed and Bastawy et al.^[35] stated that C. oblonga leave ethanolic extract has anti-inflammatory properties. Prior to applying topical arachidonic-acid (2%) to each ear and injecting 0.1 mL of carrageenan into the sub-planer area of the paw to induce paw edema, ethanol extract of quince leafs was given orally at doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg. Rats with paw edema caused by carrageenan and ear edema caused by arachidonic acid both responded well to quince leaf extract.^[35]

Anti-diabetic

On rats with normal and diabetes brought on by streptozocin, the hydro-ethanolic extract of quince leaves was explored along with 3 innate therapies utilized in Traditional Turkish drug. After consuming 2 g/kg of glucose, normal rats showed no notable effects. Although there was a substantial drop in the diabetic rats’ blood-sugar concentrations from 0 to 3 hours, the extract’s positive effects (250 or 500 mg/kg dry extract) were comparable to those of a typical anti-diabetic treatment there was no discernible change between the extract- and tolbutamide-treated rats’ glucose levels. The liver, kidney, and cardiac constituents of diabetic rats’ were measured for thiobarbituric-acid-reactive-substance (TBARS), and glutathione were used to assess the quince extract’s antioxidant activity. Because of this, there was no difference between diabetic and non-diabetic rats’ glutathione levels, although diabetic rats’ TBARS levels were significantly lower contrasted with the diabetes control group. In contrast to the larger dose of quince extract (500 mg/kg), which showed a substantial drop in kidney TBARS content (P 0.01), the low dosage (250 mg/kg) of quince fruit extract only exhibited a small and non-significant reduction on kidney TBARS. In order to prevent the complications of diabetes mellitus, type II diabetic patients are advised to utilize quince on a long-term basis Aslan et al..^[36]

Anticancer

There was a distinct difference in the ability of quince fruit and leaf (pulp, seed, and peel) to suppress cancer cell growth when their methanolic extracts were tested for anti-proliferative activity versus colon and kidney cancer. Despite the fact that renal-adenocarcinoma were rarely influenced by the leaf extract, human colon cancer cells showed a growth inhibitory mechanism that is concentration dependent with an IC50 of 239.7 43.2 g/mL. The fruit and seed extracts, however, had little to no noticeable impact on the spread of colon cancer. Moreover, the extract demonstrated powerful antiproliferative action versus kidney cancer at the highest employed concentration (500 g/mL).^[38] The potential for the chemicals extracted from the peel extract to suppress the growth of murine melanoma B16-F1 cancer cells was investigated. It was then determined that ursolic acid was the most potent chemical, with an IC50 value of 10.2 M, for inhibiting the proliferation of the cell lines in a concentration-wise pattern.^[37] Both the quince waxy extracts made from lipophilic and aqueous fermentation were equally demonstrated to have the capacity to suppress cancer cell growth in human HepG2, A549, and HeLa cell lines in another such investigation. Overall, compared to lipophilic wax extracts, the aqueous fermented extracts were more effective at inhibiting cell growth.^[39] The fruit of the quince, among other organs, may therefore be useful as a chemotherapy agent, either to treat or prevent cancer, according to these investigations (Table 3).

Table 3. Ethno-medical and nutraceutical properties of C oblonga (quince) flour.

Functional attributes	Bioactive components	Functions	Reference
Antioxidant	Flavonoids Phenolic acids Catechins Procyanidins Caffeic acid Phloridzin	Scavenge free radicals	^[Citation23]
Anti-allergic		↓ Hexosaminidase ↓ Immunoglobulin E	^[Citation29]
Anti-microbial	Tannins Polyphenols	↓Growth of Staphylococcus aureus ↓ Growth of Escherichia coli ↓ Growth of Staphylococcus epidermids	^[Citation33]
		↓Growth of Aspergillus niger
Anti-inflammatory	Phenolics Carrageenan Arachidonic acid	↓ Cytokines ↓ Interleukins	^[Citation35]
Anti-diabetic		↓ Blood glucose	^[Citation36]
Anti-cancer	Ursolic acid	Lower the incidence of cancer	^[Citation37]

Cardio protective activity

Atherosclerosis, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, cardiac inflammation, and blood clotting are all linked to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress contributes significantly to the development of CVD in all of the aforementioned physiological conditions.^[40] One study found that phenolics, in particular the 5-Ocaffeoyl quinic acid found in quince leaves, have tremendous cardiac preventive potential by absorbing ROS.^[41] Additionally, cardioprotective is the kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (astragalin), flavonoids quercetin, and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside found in quince leaves.^[42] By regulating the stimulation of mast cells, B cells, basophils, neutrophils, and T cells, flavonoids also regulate cardiac inflammation. Quince leaves can therefore be used as a cheap and natural source to prevent cardiovascular diseases. In a study, it was found that captopril (25 mg/kg) decreased blood pressure after two weeks, while ethanolic extract of quince fruit and leaves did so after four weeks at doses of 80 and 160 mg/kg body weight. Rats treated with captopril and ethanolic extract had blood pressure that was comparable to that of model rats after 8 weeks. In comparison to aspirin (1.91 and 2.58), quince leaves and fruit (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg dosage) increased clotting (1.44, 2.47, and 2.48) and bleeding times (2.17, 2.78, and 3.63), respectively. In comparison to aspirin (47%), the mortality decrease from pulmonary embolism with extracts (27, 40, and 53%) was encouraging. Additionally, Quince aqueous extracts improved thrombolysis when compared to aspirin (56%) by 45%, 55%, and 63%. The outcomes demonstrated Quince has the potential for thrombosis prevention and lowering of cardiovascular problem risks Zhou et al..^[43]

Conclusion

The Caucasian region (Talysh, Southern Transcaucasia and Eastern, Daghestan, Western and Eastern Ante-Caucasus) is where C. oblonga, a member of the Rosaceae family, most probably originated. It then moved to Greece, the Middle East, and areas between the Mediterranean and Central Asia. The existence of quince in the wild has not yet been confirmed in other parts of Central Asia. It is well known that C. oblonga has anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antibacterial, aphrodisiac, and antihemolytic properties. This plant is a great source of metabolites with exceptional biological qualities that are also reasonably priced. It has several ethnobotanical and therapeutic applications. From its fruits, jams and jellies are prepared. Its medical potential still has to be investigated further, and because it is a plant with significant economic value, conservation efforts are also necessary.

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Corresponding and all the coauthors are willing to participate in this manuscript.

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Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Writing – original draft: Fakhar Islam, Ali Imran, Mohd Asif Shah

Supervision, Writing – original draft and review and editing: Muhammad Afzaal, Anamika Chauhan

Validation, Methodology: Sumaira Shahid, Syeda Mahvish Zahra

Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources: Aasma Asghar, Mohd Asif Shah

Software: Mohd Asif Shah

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

All authors confirm the final authorship for this manuscript, and we ensure that anyone else who contributed to the manuscript but does not qualify for authorship has been acknowledged with their permission. We acknowledge that all listed authors have made a significant scientific contribution to the research in the manuscript approved its claims and agreed to be an author.

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Data availability Statement

Even though adequate data has been given further data will be provided from the corresponding author on request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.