Nutritional composition of jujube fruit

The jujube, also known as ziziphus, is grown and cultivated in India, Russia southern Europe, China and the Middle East. The fruit has been used in Chinese medicine for over 4,000 years. In India, the jujube is grown for just a few niche markets. Jujube contains potassium, phosphorus, manganese and calcium as the major minerals. There are also high amounts of sodium, zinc, iron and copper. Jujube also contains vitamin C, riboflavin and thiamine. The vitamin and mineral content of the fruit helps to support cardiovascular health and enhance metabolism. This brief review provides information on nutritional composition, changes in nutritional components with maturity and its maturity indices of Indian (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) and Chinese (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.) jujube.