Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

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Food Research International

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / f o o d r e s

Review

Bioactive phytochemicals, nutritional value, and functional properties of cape

gooseberry (Physalis peruviana): An overview
Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 22 September 2010
Accepted 28 December 2010
Keywords:
Physalis peruviana
Phytochemicals
Fruit pomace
Functional foods

a b s t r a c t
Exotic fruits play an important role in nutrition as an excellent base for low calorie and dietetic products. Highly
valued for its unique avor, texture and color, recent research has shown cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)
to be high in many benecial compounds. The diversity of functional applications to which P. peruviana can be
put gives this fruit great importance. The food industry has used cape gooseberry in different products
including beverages, yogurts and jams. With the rapidly growing popularity of this unique fruit it is important
to have a comprehensive reference for its nutritional benets. This review provides a valuable source for
current knowledge on bioactive phytochemicals and further development of P. peruviana for functional foods
as well as nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General chemical composition of P. peruviana .
P. peruviana juice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P. peruviana lipids . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P. peruviana pomace . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bioactive phytochemicals . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.
Withanolides . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.
Carotenoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.
P. peruviana volatiles and aroma compounds . .
8.
Health benets of P. peruviana extracts . . . .
8.1.
Anti-hepatotoxic activity . . . . . . . .
8.2.
Anti-inammatory activity . . . . . . .
8.3.
Anti-hepatoma activity . . . . . . . . .
8.4.
Health benets of P. peruviana oil . . . .
9.
Medical and edible applications of P. peruviana .
10.
Future trends for P. peruviana . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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1. Introduction
Berries have been shown to provide signicant health benets
because of their high antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and ber (Zhao,
2007). Cape gooseberries are annuals or short-lived perennials, and are

Tel.: +20 55 2320282, +20 129782424; fax: +20 55 2287567, +20 55 2345452.
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0963-9969/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2010.12.042

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1830
1831
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1833
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1835
1835

more or less hairy. The owers are bell-shaped, but the most distinctive
feature is the fruiting calyx which enlarges to cover the fruit and hangs
downwards like a lantern. Cape gooseberry forms a domed shrub that
can grow to 1 m. The owers, produced in winter, are yellow with
purple blotches. Physalis peruviana is an herbaceous, semi-shrub, that is
upright, perennial in subtropical zones, and can grow until it reaches
0.9 m. The fruit (Fig. 1) with an approximate weight of 45 g is protected
by an accrescent calyx and covered by a brilliant yellow peel (Mayorga,
Knapp, Winterhalter, & Duque, 2001). It is somewhat tomato-like in

M.F. Ramadan / Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

avor and appearance, though the taste (sweet and sour) is much richer
with a hint of tropical luxuriance. The plant is fairly adaptable to wide
variety of soils and good crops are obtained on poor sandy ground
(Popenoe et al., 1990???; Ramadan & Mrsel, 2004, 2007). Cape
gooseberry (P. peruviana Linn., Solanaceae) has been grown in Egypt,
South Africa, India, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain (McCain,
1993; Morton, 1987; Ramadan & Mrsel, 2003; Rehm & Espig, 1991).
Functional foods represent an emerging market of growing
economic importance. International markets exist for many exotic
fruits and recently the processing of tropical fruits started in many
countries (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2007). In 2005, there were more than
1.8 million acres of berry crops worldwide including 966 acres of
gooseberries (Strik, 2007). Cultivation in Colombia is steadily
increasing to satisfy the growing export demands, ranking it second
after banana fruit exports (Mayorga et al., 2001). A single plant may
yield 300 fruit and carefully tended plants can provide 20 to 33 tons
per hectare. Fruits are long-lasting, can be stored for several months
and also freeze well. Given research indicates that goldenberry could
become a fruit of particular interest to the food industry. This is the
strategy that established markets for kiwifruits in the 1960s and led to
a multimillion dollar annual crop.
2. General chemical composition of P. peruviana
The fruit has been used as a good source of provitamin A, minerals,
vitamin C and vitamin B-complex. The fruit contain 15% soluble solids
(mainly sugars) and its high level of fructose makes it valuable for
diabetics. The phosphorus level is high for a fruit (Table 1). Its high
content of dietary ber is of importance, wherein fruit pectin acts as
an intestinal regulator (McCain, 1993; Ramadan & Mrsel, 2003).
3. P. peruviana juice
Cape gooseberry juice yield is 72.6% of the berry weight. Enzymatic
treatment resulted in an increase in the macro- and micro-component
levels. Application of enzymes leads to juice with higher pulp content,
acidity and total soluble solids. On the other side, enzyme-treated
juice was characterized by lower alcohol insoluble solids and pHvalues (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2007). The amount of alcohol insoluble
solids in fresh juice was found to be 0.62 g/100 g juice. The total acid
content in cape gooseberry juice is 0.91.0% and the pH of the juice is
low (3.793.86). Total sugar content in the juice is 4.9 g/100 g and the
preponderant compounds are sucrose (35 g/100 g sugar) and fructose
(29 g/100 g sugar), which are comparable to the sugar content in

1831

Table 1
Levels of nutrients, minerals and water-soluble bioactives in Physalis peruviana pulp.
Source: Ramadan and Mrsel (2004).
Moisture (g/100 g)
Protein (g/100 g)
Lipid (g/100 g)
Carbohydrate (g/100 g)
Fiber (g/100 g)
Ash (g/100 g)
Calcium (mg/100 g)
Phosphorus (mg/100 g)
Iron (mg/100 g)
Carotene (mg/100 g)
Thiamine (mg/100 g)
Riboavin (mg/100 g)
Niacin (mg/100 g)
Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)

78.9
0.050.3
0.150.2
19.6
4.9
1.0
8.0
55.3
1.2
1.6
0.1
0.03
1.70
43.0

common juices. The sugar content in common juices was reported to

be 9.8% in pear, 7.0% in orange, 11.1% in apple, 8.5% in peach, and 5.7%
in strawberry (Belitz & Grosch, 1999; Gurrieri et al., 2000). Ascorbic
acid level in cape gooseberry (46 mg/100 g) turns out to be higher
than in most fruits such as pear (4 mg/100 g), apple (6 mg/100 g),
peach (7 mg/100 g), and somewhat comparable with orange (50 mg/
100 g) and strawberry (60 mg/100 g) (Belitz & Grosch, 1999).
Phenolics in fruits are of great interest owing to their important
pharmacological properties (Meyer, 1999). In gooseberry, quercetin is
the main phenolic compound, followed by myricetin and kaempferol
(Hkkinen, Krenlampi, Heinonen, Mykknen, & Riitta, 1999). Good
amounts of phenolics were estimated in cape gooseberry juice,
wherein the level of total phenols was 6.30 mg/100 g juice as caffeic
acid equivalents (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2007).
Fruit juice was found to contain 0.2% oil, wherein linoleic acid, oleic
acid, palmitic acid, -linolenic (GLA) acid and palmitoleic acid were the
main fatty acids (Table 2). The total level of trienes was ca. 22.7% and
the oil is characterized by high level of GLA (18.8%), while -3 fatty acid
(-linolenic acid) and dihomo--linolenic (DHGLA) were found in
lower levels. The juice could be a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Interest in polyunsaturated fatty acids as health-promoting nutrients
has expanded in recent years with growing literature illustrating their
benets (Riemersma, 2001). The major phytosterols (ST) were 5avenasterol and campesterol (Table 2). Vitamin E level was high,
wherein - and -tocopherols were the main constituents. High
amounts of -carotene were detected also in the juice (Table 2).
Therefore, cape gooseberry juice could be a novel source of functional
drinks without a need of fortication with fat-soluble bioactives
(Ramadan & Mrsel, 2007).
The antioxidant activity of cape gooseberry juice was assessed by
means of a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test. Fresh juice
produce a 78% decrease vs the absorbance of DPPH radicals' control
solution while enzyme-treated juice resulted in an 82% decrease
(Ramadan & Mrsel, 2007). Phenolics are responsible for the
antioxidant activity of juices and wines, while ascorbic acid plays a
minor role in the antioxidant efciency of juices (Meyer, Yi, Pearson,
Waterhouse, & Frankel, 1995; Rapisarda et al., 1999). Miller and RiceEvans (1997) underlined the signicant contributory role of phenols
to the antioxidant activity of orange juice, even if vitamin C was the
most abundant antioxidant. The presence of a good amount of
phenolics in cape gooseberry juice, could contribute to the high level
of antioxidant capacity.
4. P. peruviana lipids

Fig. 1. Physalis peruviana in opened calyx. The fruit is a berry, 0.5 to 0.75 in. (1.252 cm)
wide, with smooth, waxy, orange-yellow skin and juicy pulp containing numerous
small yellowish kernels. The part of the goldenberry that can be used is composed of
husk (5%) and berry (95%). The berries can be further subdivided into seeds (ca. 17%)
and pulp/peel fraction (ca. 83%), the latter being the basis for fruit and juice products.

Lipid composition of the Colombian cultivar of P. peruviana was

studied (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2003). Whole berries contained ca. 2.0%
oil, in which seed oil (SO) comprised ca. 90% (1.8% oil of the berry
weight) and pulp/peel oil (PO) constituted ca. 10% (0.2% oil of the

1832

M.F. Ramadan / Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

Table 2
Levels of fatty acids, phytosterols, fat-soluble vitamins and -carotene in the Egyptian
Physalis peruviana juice (pulp oil).
Source: Ramadan and Mrsel (2007).
Compound

Compound

g/kg

C12:0
C14:0
C16:0
C16:1n-7
C18:0
C18:1n-9
C18:2n-6
C18:3n-6
C20:0
C18:3n-3
C20:1n-9
C20:3n-6
C22:1n-9
C24:0
C24:1n-9
S/U ratio (%)a

0.25
1.09
19.3
7.52
1.87
22.2
22.7
18.8
0.21
0.63
0.15
2.31
0.91
0.65
1.12
29.4

Ergosterol
Campesterol
Stigmasterol
Lanosterol
-Sitosterol
5-Avenasterol
7-Avenasterol
Total sterols

9.23
12.2
6.23
6.55
5.23
12.5
3.71
55.6

-Tocopherol
-Tocopherol
-Tocopherol
-Tocopherol
Total vitamin E

28.3
15.2
45.5
1.50
90.5

-Carotene

4.32

Ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids.

berry weight). In whole berry oil (WBO), SO and PO linoleic, oleic,

palmitic, stearic and -linolenic (GLA) were the main fatty acids
(Table 3). Pulp/peel oil was characterized by a high amount of
saturated fatty acids which comprised more than 16%. The content of
PUFA in PO was about 11.7% and the oil was characterized by a high
level of GLA (8.66%), while -3 fatty acid (-linolenic acid) and
DHGLA were estimated in lower levels. WBO and SO contained more
neutral lipids (NL, ca. 95% of total lipids) than polar lipids (PL).
Triacylglycerols (TAG) were the predominant NL class and constituted
ca. 81.6, 86.6 and 65.1% of NL in WBO, SO and PO, respectively
(Table 4). MAG, DAG and FFA were found in higher levels in the PO
comparing with the SO and WBO. Saturated fatty acids were detected
in high amounts in all lipid classes especially MAG which are
characterized by high levels of palmitic acid (N25%). The oils contain
nine TAG molecular species, but three species, C54:3, C52:2 and C54:6
accounted for ca. 91% or above (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2003).
Plant sterols were estimated in high levels and there were no
remarkable differences between WBO and SO in terms of sterol
content and composition while PO was characterized by a higher level
of sterols. In WBO and SO, campesterol and -sitosterol were the
sterol markers while the major sterols in PO were, 5-avenasterol and

Table 3
Fatty acid compositions of Colombian Physalis peruviana oils.
Source: Ramadan and Mrsel (2003).
Fatty acid

Whole berry oil

Seed oil

Pulp/peel oil

(WBO)

(SO)

(PO)

0.35
1.00
7.29
0.52
2.51
11.7
76.1
0.31
0.20
0.02
n.d.a
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
12.8

0.91
0.50
9.58
1.06
2.92
20.1
44.4
8.66
0.40
1.09
0.22
1.95
2.70
1.85
3.66
19.2

Relative content
C12:0
C14:0
C16:0
C16:1n-7
C18:0
C18:1n-9
C18:2n-6
C18:3n-6
C20:0
C18:3n-3
C20:1n-9
C20:3n-6
C22:1n-9
C24:0
C24:1n-9
S/U ratio (%)b
a
b

0.49
1.00
8.62
0.63
2.57
13.0
70.5
1.79
0.28
0.11
0.01
0.22
0.26
0.22
0.30
15.1

Table 4
Levels of lipid classes (g/100 g total lipids) in Physalis peruviana oils.
Source: Ramadan and Mrsel (2003).

WBO
SO
PO

MAG

DAG

TAG

FFA

STE

PL

1.23
1.04
2.76

1.65
1.36
2.46

78.2
84.0
60.3

3.13
2.12
5.16

0.49
0.34
0.65

4.15
2.99
7.34

Abbreviations: MAG, monoacylglycerols; DAG, diacylglycerols; TAG, triacylglycerols;

FFA, free fatty acids; STE, sterol esters; PL, polar lipids.

campesterol. Recently, there has been a rise of interest in plant sterols.

Most of this interest has focused on cholesterol-lowering properties of
4-desmethyl plant sterols and phytostanols, and evidence of this
phenomenon includes clinical studies on plant sterols products,
patents on phytosterol products, and many commercial plant sterols
products (Costa, Ballus, Teixeira-Filho, & Godoy, 2010). Vitamin E
level was high in PO (ca. 8.6% of TL) whereas estimated in low
amounts in WBO and SO. - and -Tocopherols were the major
components in WBO and SO, while - and -tocopherols were the
main constituents in PO. Tocopherols are the best-known antioxidants in nature to protect lipids from oxidation (Toyosaki, Sakane, &
Kasai, 2008). -Carotene was measured in the highest level in PO
(0.32% of TL) followed by WBO (0.22%) then SO (0.13%), the latter
being characterized by light yellow hues. Besides their potential
benecial health effect, carotenoids are used as pigments to color food
in the industries. Since the consumer purchase decision of food is,
inter alia, based on the color, the market position of a product can be
improved, in particular by application of natural pigments in contrast
to synthetic colorant, since there is an increased demand for natural
mild processed food (Wackerbarth, Stoll, Gebken, Pelters, & Bindrich,
2009). Cape gooseberry oils were characterized by a high level of
vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), which comprised more than 0.2% of the
total lipids in PO (Ramadan & Mrsel, 2003). Vitamin K1 (Fig. 2) level
is very low in most food (b10 mg/100 g), and the majority of the
vitamin is obtained from a few green and leafy vegetables (e.g.
spinach) (Jakob & Elmadfa, 2000; Piironen, Koivu, Tammisalo, &
Mattila, 1997).

5. P. peruviana pomace
Fruit processing industry produces a large amount of byproducts
which are a rich source of bioactive compounds. Cape gooseberry
pomace (seeds and skins) represent a large portion of the waste
generated during juice processing (ca. 27.4% of fruit weight). The
pomace contains 19.3% oil, 17.8% protein, 3.10% ash, 28.7% crude ber
and 24.5% carbohydrates. Aqueous enzymatic extraction was investigated for recovery of oil from the fruit pomace (Ramadan & Mrsel,
2007, 2009). Different extraction techniques (Fig. 3) were checked for
the best pomace oil yield. Enzymatic treatment with Pectinases and
Cellulases followed by centrifugation in an aqueous system (EAE) or
followed by solvent extraction (ESE) was investigated for recovery of
oil from fruit pomace. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pomace followed by
solvent extraction reduced the extraction time and enhanced oil
extractability up to ca. 7.60% (Ramadan, Sitohy, & Mrsel, 2008).

O
n.d.(not detected).
Ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids.

Fig. 2. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone).

M.F. Ramadan / Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

1833

Fig. 3. Block diagram of Physalis peruviana juice and oil processing.

6. Bioactive phytochemicals

R2

6.1. Withanolides
Withanolides are a group of steroidal lactones which have been
isolated from the genera Acnistus, Datura, Jaborosa, Lycium, Physalis
and Withania of the family Solanaceae. Withanolides have a limited
distribution, having been rst isolated from Withania somnifera and
subsequently being found in 12 genera of the Solanaceae (Glotter,
1991; Ray & Gupta, 1994). Withanolides exhibited a broad spectrum
of biological properties and signicant pharmacological activities,
including insect-antifeedant, insect-repellent activities, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anti-inammatory, antitumor, cytotoxic activity, and protection against CCl4-induced
hepatoxicity (Glotter, 1991; Lan et al., 2009; Veleiro, Oberti, & Burton,
2005). An insect-antifeedant property of withanolide E isolated from
P. peruviana has been demonstrated against Spodoptera littoralis
larvae (Ascher et al., 1980). Withanolide E and 4-hydroxywithanolide E have been tested as anticancer agents (Cassady & Suffness,
1980). 28-hydroxywithanolide E (Fig. 4) was isolated from the calyces
of P. peruviana. In addition, two withanolides isolated from the whole
plant material of P. peruviana have been characterized as (20R,22R)5,6,14,20,27-pentahydroxy-1-oxowith-24-enolide and

OH
O

OH
O

OH

R1
R1

R2

1- 4-hydroxywithanolide E.

-OH

Me

2- 28-hydroxywithanolide E.

-H

-CH2OH

3- Withanolide E.

-H

Me

Fig. 4. Withanolides isolated from Physalis peruviana.

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M.F. Ramadan / Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

HO

(20S,22R)-5,6-epoxy-4,14,15-trihydroxy-1-oxowith-2,24-dienolide (Dinan, Sarker, & Sik, 1997). Lan et al. (2009) investigated the
extracts of P. peruviana and characterized seven new withanolides,
phyperunolide A (1), phyperunolide B (2), phyperunolide C (3),
phyperunolide D (4), peruvianoxide (5), phyperunolide E (16), and
phyperunolide F (17) together with ten known withanolides.

O
OH

HO
O
HO

OH

6.2. Carotenoids
HO

HO

A positive correlation was observed between ingestion of

vegetables and fruits containing carotenoids and prevention of several
chronic-degenerative diseases (Coyne et al., 2005; Fraser, Lee, & Binns,
2005). Carotenoids from Physalis were determined by HPLC-PDA-MS/
MS and 22 compounds have been identied. all-trans--Carotene was
the major carotenoid, contributing 76.8% to the total carotenoid,
followed by 9-cis--carotene and all-trans--cryptoxanthin, contributing around 3.6 and 3.4% (De Rosso & Mercadante, 2007). The level of
carotenoid esters calculated as lutein dimyristate equivalents was
(b0.5 mg/100 g) (Breithaupt & Bamedi, 2001).

O
HO
O

OH

O
HO
O
OH

HO

OH

7. P. peruviana volatiles and aroma compounds

As natural progenitors of cinnamic acid-derived volatiles in fruits,
l-O-trans-Cinnamoyl--D-glucopyranosyl-(1 6)--D-glucopyranose
(Fig. 5) was isolated (47.8 mg/kg) from P. peruviana (Latza, Ganber, &
Berger, 1996). Structure elucidation by NMR and optical rotation
enabled the identication of (1S,2S)-1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol 2-O-D-glucopyranoside (1) and p-menth-4(8)-ene-1,2-diol 1-O--Larabinopyranosyl-(1-6)--D-glucopyranoside (2). Both glycosides
(Fig. 6) have been identied for the rst time in nature. They could
be considered as immediate precursors of 1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol
and p-menth-4(8)-ene-1,2-diol, typical volatiles found in cape
gooseberry (Mayorga et al., 2001). Mayorga, Duque, Knapp, and
Winterhalter (2002) analyzed hydroxyester glycoconjugates which
could liberate volatile hydroxyesters as a mechanism of aroma
generation. Characterization of three new hydroxyester glycosides
(Fig. 7): 3-O--D-glucopyranosyl-(1 6)--D-glucopyranoside of
ethyl 3-hydroxyoctanoate (1); 3-O--L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 6)-D-glucopyranoside of butyl (3R)-hydroxybutanoate (2); and 3-O--Larabinopyranosyl-(1 6)--D-glucopyranoside of butyl (3S)-hydroxybutanoate (3) was reported.
8. Health benets of P. peruviana extracts
Epidemiological studies from other parts of the world indicate that
increased consumption of fruits and vegetables are associated with
lower risk of chronic degenerative diseases (Reddy, Sreeramulu, &
Raghunath, 2010). Various bioactive compounds (withanolides and
phenolics) are reported to be present in P. peruviana (Dinan et al.,
1997). Some of these compounds have a strong antioxidant property
and prevent peroxidative damage to liver microsomes and hepatocytes (Wang, Lin-Shiau, & Lin, 1999).

Fig. 6. Structures of newly identied glycosides of Physalis peruviana: (1S,2S)-1phenylpropane-1,2-diol 2-O--D-glucopyranoside (1); p-menth-4(8)-ene-1,2-diol 1O--L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-6)--D-glucopyranoside (2).

CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity (DeLeve & Kaplowitz, 1995). The

antioxidant property is claimed to be one of the mechanisms of
hepatoprotective impact (Bhatt & Bhatt, 1996). Histopathological
changes induced by CCl4 were also signicantly reduced by the extract
(Arun & Asha, 2007).

HO
HO
O

HO
O

OH

HO

HO

OH

1
HO

HO
O

OH

HO

HO

OH

8.1. Anti-hepatotoxic activity

HO

Water, ethanol and hexane (500 mg/kg body weight) leaves

extracts of P. peruviana showed antihepatotoxic activities against

HO

HO

HO

OH

O
HO

HO
HO

OH
O

Fig. 5. l-O-trans-cinnamoyl--D-glucopyranosyl-(1 6)--D-glucopyranose.

OH

3
Fig. 7. Hydroxyester glycosides isolated from Physalis peruviana

M.F. Ramadan / Food Research International 44 (2011) 18301836

8.2. Anti-inammatory activity

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SFE-CO2) extracts of P. peruviana
contained high levels of avonoid (234 mg/g) and phenol (90 mg/g).
At concentrations 0.130 g/mL, SFE-CO2 extracts demonstrated
strong xanthine oxidase inhibitory effect. At 30 g/mL, SFE-CO2
extracts prevented lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 g/mL)-induced cell
cytotoxicity in murine macrophage cells and remarkably blocked the
LPS induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2
expression (Wu et al., 2006).
8.3. Anti-hepatoma activity
Apoptosis is dened by a number of morphological and biochemical changes including membrane bubbling, cell shrinkage, DNA
fragmentation and appearance of phosphatidylserine in the outer
side of the plasma membrane (Park et al., 2002). Reactive oxygen
species (ROS) are generated during mitochondrial respiration and
recognized as mediators of the apoptotic signaling pathway (Li et al.,
2003). Cellular generation of ROS has been associated with human
disease states such as inammatory diseases, neurodegenerative
diseases, cancer and aging (Yang, Addona, Nair, Qi, & Ravikumar,
2003). Ethanolic extract of P. peruviana (EEPP) inhibits growth and
induces apoptotic death of human Hep G2 cells in culture, whereas
proliferation of the mouse liver cells was not affected. The results
concluded that EEPP possesses potent antihepatoma activity and its
effect on apoptosis is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. A
detailed study to dene the molecular mechanism of EEPP-induced
apoptosis in Hep G2 cells was recently published (Wu, Ng, Chen, et al.,
2004; Wu, Ng, Lin, Wang & Lin, 2004).
8.4. Health benets of P. peruviana oil
A high level of vitamin K1 is the most unique health promoting
characteristic of cape gooseberry oil. Vitamin K functions as a
coenzyme and is involved in the synthesis of a number of proteins
participating in blood clotting and bone metabolism (Damon, Zhang,
Haytowitz, & Booth, 2005; Shearer, 1992). Vitamin K reduces the risk
of heart disease, kills cancer cells, and enhances skin health and may
have antioxidant properties (Otles & Cagindi, 2007). High phylloquinone intakes are markers of a dietary and lifestyle pattern that is
associated with lower coronary heart disease (CHD) risk (Erkkil,
Booth, Hu, Jacques, & Lichtenstein, 2007). The phylloquinone
requirement of the adult human is extremely low. Vitamin K1 is
obtained from a few green and leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach and
broccoli). Among edible oils, the best sources of phylloquinone were
rapeseed oil (ca 1.5 ug/g) and soybean oil (ca 1.30 ug/g) (Piironen et
al., 1997). Cape gooseberry oil appears to be nutritionally valuable, as
the high content of linoleic acid is associated with the prevention of
cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and linoleic acid is known to be the
precursor of structural components of plasma membranes and of
some metabolic regulatory compounds. The level of tocopherols
which is signicantly high identies the oil as nutritionally valuable.
9. Medical and edible applications of P. peruviana
Cape gooseberry is used in folk medicine for treating diseases such
as malaria, asthma, hepatitis, dermatitis, diuretic and rheumatism
(Wu, Ng, Chen, et al., 2004; Wu, Ng, Lin, et al., 2004). Many medicinal
properties have been attributed to cape gooseberry, including
antiasthmatic, antiseptic, and strengthener for the optic nerve,
treatment of throat affections and elimination of intestinal parasites,
amoebas as well as albumin from kidneys. It has an anti-ulcer activity
and it is effective in reducing cholesterol level (Arun & Asha, 2007;
Mayorga et al., 2001). In addition to having a future as a fresh fruit, the
fruit can be consumed in many ways as an ingredient in salads, cooked

1835

dishes, dessert, jam, natural snack and preservers. Its extract can also
be used for preparing a health drink (Popenoe et al., 1990???; Rehm &
Espig, 1991).
10. Future trends for P. peruviana
Cape gooseberry was known for centuries, but the potential of this
fruit for intensive cultivation has only just begun to be explored. Cape
gooseberry should attract great interest because of their nutritional
and industrial properties. Because of its unique storage properties,
wherein the fruits can be kept for a long time, cape gooseberry could
be a suitable plant for different food applications. The development of
adequate agro-technical methods can make this fruit a promising
protable new crop for arid regions. Cape gooseberry can be a very
interesting candidate for the processing of new functional foods and
drinks. The yield of the juice is extremely high and the juice is a rich
source of sugars as well as water- and fat-soluble bioactives. The
preparation of new alcoholic, nonalcoholic and alpha-tocopherolbeta-carotene drinks based on the cape gooseberry could greatly
extend the distribution and marketing of this delicious fruit. Cape
gooseberry pulp, seed and pomace oils might serve as excellent
dietary sources for vitamin K1, -linoleic acid, essential fatty acids,
tocopherols, and carotenoids. On the other side, P. peruviana is a
promising candidate plant for the development of a phytomedicine
against many diseases. Useful information for the industrial application of cape gooseberry is provided. This will be important as an
indication of the potentially nutraceutical and economical utility of
cape gooseberry as a new source of bioactive phytochemicals and
functional foods.
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