Nutritional, Phytochemical Contents and Cytotoxicity of Bua China, Adonidia Merrillii Fruits

Abstract

Bua China adonidia merrillii is one of the most popular ornamental palms in the world. It has been extensively introduced mostly in tropical regions as an indoor plant. It robustly grows and fruit voluminously. This investigation focused on the determination of the nutritional, phytochemical contents, and cytotoxicity of underutilized bua china fruits as bases for their potential added value,
utilization, and consumption. The fruits were gathered from Quirino State University, Diffun campus. Analyses revealed that the green and red fruits contained moisture of 45.07% and 46.18%, total ash of 21.26g and 20.79g/100g, total lipids of 0.0679 and 0.1311g/100g, the crude fiber of 0.07g and 0.12 g/100 g sample, total carbohydrates of 0.7683 and 0.7536 g/100g sample, respectively and protein of 0.5 mg/ml for both. These primary metabolites are essential for plant growth, development, reproduction, defense against diseases, and stress. These nutrients are vital for human nutrition and wellness. Phytochemical screening also revealed the presence of anthraquinones, anthrones, essential oils, fatty acids, flavonoids, phenols, steroids, sugars, tannins triterpenes for both stages of fruits. The red bua china fruit contained alkaloids that were not present in green fruit. But the green fruit contained coumarins which were not present in the red fruit. These secondary metabolites are distinct characteristics of plants that can have breakthroughs in food development, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. The fruits were asserted to be nontoxic, and thus safe to be eaten. These results are baseline data for adonidia merrillii fruits found within Quirino and nearby provinces to optimize the fruits for food and medicine development, income generation, and cultivation.