Fruits ofSonneratia apetala (Buch.-Ham.) are widely used as food and in treatingvarious diseases in the tropical coastal areas. This study evaluated nutrient compositions in pericarp and seed of this fruit. Each of pericarp and seed was successively fractionated into n-hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Polyphenols contents and antioxidant activities of different pericarp and seed fractions were measured in different in vitro methods and phenolic compounds were determined by HPLC. Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and ash contents were 29.6, 8.8, 2.8 and 25.5% of dry weight (d.w.) in pericarp whereas 28.3, 11.5, 4.2 and 22.7% in seed, respectively. Among the mineral macro-elements, K content was the highest (pericarp: 1.81%, seed: 0.88% of d.w.) followed by Na, Ca, Mg, P and S while in micro-elements, Fe was at the largest (pericarp: 132.5 ppm, seed: 107.3 ppm of d.w.) followed by Mn, Zn and Cu.A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 Methanol fraction of seed (MS) showed the highest polyphenols content (221.9 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalent)/g fraction), DPPH (IC 50 = 2.1 μg/mL) and NO (IC 50 = 490.8 μg/mL) free radical scavenging. Similarly, MS also attained very strong reducing power (OD = 1.67 at 100 µg/mL), Fe 2+ chelating and total antioxidant capacity. When subjected to HPLC analysis of MS, six polyphenols namely caffeic acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, ellagic acid, gallic acid and quercetin were detected and quantified as 88.1, 1459.3, 310.1, 616.9, 416.7 and 71.8 mg/100g of MS, respectively. Therefore, the fruit of S. apetala, especially its seeds could be of great use in preparation of functional foods and dietary supplements.
