Abstract

• Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) fruits contain many nutritional components which have medicinal importance as well. The oil (81%) from the fruit pulp was extracted by Soxhlet extraction with petroleum ether. The fatty acids in the oil were identified by GC-MS analysis by NIST spectral library. Eleven fatty acids were identified in the ester fraction: two unidentified acids; myristic acid; palmitoleic acid; palmitic acid; linoleic acid; petroselinic acid; oleic acid, as well as (11Z)-11-octadecenoic acid, stearic acid andisostearic acid, in the increasing order of retention time up to 23 min. One long chain alcohol and one free fatty acid were also suggested to be present in the pulp oil by FT IR. Avocado pulps were then analyzed for nutritional values present by using AOAC methods. The observed data revealed that avocado pulp had high energy value (344 kcal/100g). Moisture content (5.56 %) and ash content (5.23 %) were calculated in dried sample of avocado pulp. Protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrate contents were 6.55 %, 4.18 %, 8.14 % and 70.34 %, respectively. Agar well diffusion method was adapted to determine the antimicrobial activity of the avocado pulp extracts (PE, MeOH, EtOAc, EtOH and H2O). The MeOH, EtOAc and EtOH extracts of avocado pulp were active against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus pumilus, Candida albicansand Escherichia coli while PE and H2O extracts were inactive on all the tested microorganisms. All the extracts were inactive on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, the antioxidant activity of avocado pulp was slightly higher in the watery extract (IC50 = 19.32 µg/mL) than the ethanol extract (IC50 = 21.84 µg/mL) by DPPH assay method. The present study therefore confirms the nutritional and medicinal values of the avocado produced in Taunggyi.