Assessment of Morphological, Phytochemical, Antioxidant, and Nutritional Profiles of Underexplored Citrus Pseudolimon (Galgal) Using Various Analytical Techniques

Citrus pseudolimon (galgal), is an underutilized citrus fruit from the Rutaceae family with promising nutritional potential. The study compared morphological, chemical, and nutritional properties of galgal cultivars from Punjab (PBG), Haryana (HRG), and Himachal Pradesh (HPG). HPG was found to have a longer length (110.18 mm), weight (333.4 g), color (L*, a*, b*: 64.83, -13.12, 61.33), peel thickness (3.92 mm), fruit yield (72.14%), and number of seeds (18) compared to HRG and PBG. The moisture content of PBG (84.37%) was greater than HPG (82.73%) and HRG (81.23%). The total sugar level of HPG (9.25%) was found significantly low from PBG and HRG (~ 10%). All cultivars have enough fibres (~ 4%) and pectin (3–4%), with phenols, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid ranging from 67.6 to 77.09 mg GAE/g, 34.39–35.31 mg QE/g, and 68.28–70.45 mg/100 mL, respectively. Fruit seed oil contained palmitic (22.36 to 22.87%), oleic (27.77 to 29.25%), linoleic (31.43 to 32.14%), and linolenic (6.32 to 6.70%) acids and other minor fatty acids. All fruit varieties were antioxidant-rich. The predominant volatile elements in all cultivars were α-pinene, camphene, D-limonene, 3-carene, linalool, c-elemene, and caryophyllene. The GC-MS analysis of all cultivars revealed significant amounts of D-limonene and α-ocimene. Overall, excellent nutritional and functional components make galgal a very important food commodity to be utilized to formulate functional foods.