Effect of geographical distributions on the nutrient composition, phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of Morus nigra.

Recent worldwide inclination for the consumption of natural compounds has extremely augmented the significance of persistent quality of plant materials. Consequently, there is an escalating scientific concern in the impact of geographical distributions of the plants on their chemical constituents, physical characteristics and biological activities. The current study was carried out to see the effect of geographical locations on the nutrient composition, mineral contents, phytochemical profile and free radical scavenging activity of Morus nigra fruit. The samples were collected from five different locations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which included districts of D. I. Khan, Karak, Peshawar, Swabi and Swat. The results revealed the considerable impact of geographical locations on the levels of proximate nutrient and selected minerals. Likewise, the concentrations of phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin and alkaloidal contents varied significantly (p<0.05) with respect to their geographical distributions. The physicochemical characteristic, extraction yields and DPPH scavenging activity of the samples also showed strong link with the sites of their cultivation. The data suggest that geographical distributions affect the levels of phytochemicals and conversely their biological activities. These variations must be taken into consideration while utilizing raw plant materials for industrial applications and traditional therapies.