Saikia Deepanka, Kesavan Radhakrishnan, Stephen Inbaraj Baskaran, Dikkala Praveen Kumar, Nayak Prakash Kumar, Sridhar Kandi
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi 761211, Odisha, India.
Department of Food Engineering & Technology, Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar, Kokrajhar 783370, Assam, India.
Foods. 2023 Aug 8;12(16):2993. doi: 10.3390/foods12162993.
Elephant apple ( L.) grows wild in Southeast Asia's forests, including in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Elephant apples are considered essential fruit crops because of their high nutritional value, which includes high levels of vitamin C, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, protein, minerals, and fatty acids. It is important to understand the nutritional value and health benefits of elephant apples in order to increase fruit intake in people's daily diets. The present review paper focuses on elephant apple's phytochemistry, bioactive compounds, therapeutic value, and medicinal capabilities for designing and developing a wide range of food formulations. Proteins, minerals, fats, crude fibre, carbohydrates, vitamin C, tannins, malic acid, and glucose are abundant in the leaves, bark, and fruit of the elephant apple. In addition to nutritional components, many phytochemicals found in elephant apples have been identified as bioactive compounds with a broad range of biological activities, the most prominent of which are antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, elephant apple is a rich, natural source of bioactive compounds with potential applications in the production of value-added foods and nutraceuticals for disease prevention and management.
象苹果（L.）生长于东南亚的森林中，包括中国、印度、尼泊尔、孟加拉国和斯里兰卡。象苹果因其高营养价值而被视为重要的水果作物，其营养成分包括高水平的维生素C、碳水化合物、脂肪、纤维、蛋白质、矿物质和脂肪酸。了解象苹果的营养价值和健康益处对于增加人们日常饮食中的水果摄入量至关重要。本综述文章聚焦于象苹果的植物化学、生物活性化合物、治疗价值及药用能力，以设计和开发多种食品配方。象苹果的叶、树皮和果实中富含蛋白质、矿物质、脂肪、粗纤维、碳水化合物、维生素C、单宁、苹果酸和葡萄糖。除营养成分外，象苹果中发现的许多植物化学物质已被鉴定为具有广泛生物活性的生物活性化合物，其中最突出的是抗氧化、抗癌、抗糖尿病和抗炎特性。总体而言，象苹果是生物活性化合物的丰富天然来源，在生产用于疾病预防和管理的增值食品及营养保健品方面具有潜在应用价值。
