A review on nutritive, medicinal and commercial aspects of Asian Palmyra palm fruit

Abstract

The Asian Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer L.) is an economically important tree widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The multifaceted uses of the Palmyra palm fruit as food, wood, and medicine, make it a viable industrial crop. It is among the most beneficial species that have economic and medicinal value. It is found to posses antiinflammatory, anti-arthritic, cytotoxic, antibacterial, analgesic, antipyretic, hypoglycemic, and anti-oxidant properties. The plant has a very close connection with the rural livelihood, and cottage and agro-based industries of Indian economy. Unfortunately, over 60% of the annual fruit yield is often lost within ten days after harvesting due to rot in storage. The value of Palmyra fruit is not yet materialized, as no Palmyra products are commercialized so far. Even though Palmyra is an economically important palm for its nutritional aspects, it is underutilized and has not received proper attention in agricultural research, since it is a very slowly growing palm and is mostly found in the wild state. Hence, this paper attempts to give a view on Palmyra fruit’s historical importance, chemistry, nutritional properties, medicinal properties, and commercialization.

Keywords

• borassus flabellifer l.
• palmyra fruit pulp
• nutritional properties
• medicinal values
• commercialization