Journal of Food Research; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2019 ISSN 1927-0887 E-ISSN 1927-0895 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 11 Physico-chemical Characteristics of Selected Jackfruit (Artocarpus Heterophyllus Lam) Varieties J. Balamaze 1 , J. H. Muyonga 1 & Y. B. Byaruhanga 1 1 Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio Engineering, Makerere University, P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Correspondence: Yusuf Byaruhanga, Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio Engineering, Makerere University, P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda. Tel: 256-772-445-113. E-mail: ybbyaru@gmail.com / ybbyaruhanga@caes.mak.ac.ug Received: April 13, 2019 Accepted: May 4, 2019 Online Published: May 29, 2019 doi:10.5539/jfr.v8n4p11 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jfr.v8n4p11 Abstract This study was aimed at establishing the variation in physico-chemical properties between and within different jackfruit varieties. Mature jackfruits from trees known to produce orange, yellow and white flakes were harvested and ripened at 28 o C and 90% relative humidity. The weight, length and circumference of ripe fruits were measured. The fruits were cut into three equal sections: top, middle and bottom. Each section was separated into flakes, rind, abortive perigones, consolidated perigones, seeds and core. The percent weight of different fruit parts, and flake physico-chemical characteristics were determined. The average weight, length, circumference and maturation period for jackfruit varieties studied were 12 kg, 47 cm, 76 cm and 104 days, respectively. The mean proportions of flakes, rind, abortive perigones, consolidated perigones, seeds and core were 24.7, 20.0, 14.5 14.3, 13.1 and 11.3%, respectively. Ascorbic acid (AA), carotenoids, total soluble solids (TSS), TSS: acid ratio, color and texture varied significantly among jackfruit sections. Color did not vary among sections of yellow and white flaked varieties. Flake texture (hardness) was 12.1, 10.5 and 6.6 N/mm for the white, yellow and orange flaked varieties, respectively. Flake textural resilience was in the order: white > yellow > orange flakes. Principle component analysis showed white flakes correlated positively with flake resilience, hardness and color lightness. Orange flakes were associated with high carotenoids and TSS content. Yellow flakes exhibited intermediate properties between those of white and orange flakes. Jackfruit flake color and section can be used as flake quality predictor. Keywords: jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus lam, physico-chemical, texture, fruit characteristics 1. Introduction Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus lam) is the largest tree born fruit, constituting edible flakes and an inedible portion both of which can be processed into value added products. The flakes can be processed into products like juice, jam, dried chips, fruit leathers and wines, while the inedible portion could be utilized as a source of pectin. Pectin is important ingredient in the food and pharmaceutical industries where it can be used as a gelling agent, stabilizer, thickener or emulsifier (Beguma, Azizb, Uddinb, & Yusof, 2014). The propagation of jackfruit is mainly through seed planting. Besides, jackfruit undergoes extensive cross pollination (Mitra & Mani, 2000), which leads to a lot of variation in fruit characteristics. Such variation may affect the quality of products processed from fruits from different jackfruit varieties. According to Balamaze, Muyonga & Byaruhanga (2019), there are mainly three jackfruit varieties based on flake color in Uganda. Mostly, jackfruit flakes are mainly consumed fresh with the inedible fruit portions wasted or fed to animals. Farmers with jackfruit trees reported losses of up to 20% during peak harvest season (Balamaze et al., 2019). It is therefore, necessary that alternative approaches for utilization of jackfruit be evaluated to ensure full realization of the economic potential of the different jackfruit varieties. This requires a comprehensive understanding of the physico-chemical properties of the different jackfruit varieties. Several studies on characterization of jackfruit have been undertaken; Jagaseesh, Reddy, Basavaraj, Swamy, & Laxminarayan (2010) categorized jackfruits based on fruit size, taste, odour of flakes, shape and density of