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A large number of minor and wild fruit species have originated in Indian subcontinent. Many of these fruits or their plants parts have been used in folk, Ayurvedic and Unani medicines since time immemorial. Several fruits were introduced in India during colonial period. Most of them adapted to climatic conditions of India but remains minor crops .These fruits also have several medicinal properties and were used by the native people of their respective origin of centres. Some the fruits such as bael, aonla, jamun, tamarind, karonda, wood apple, kokum etc were known for their use in Indian pharmacopeia. The exotic fruits such as sour sop, rambutan, mangosteen, avocado, water apple, durian, passion fruit, carambola etc. have been reported for their different medicinal importance. These fruits contain several chemical ingredients such flavonoids, quinolizidine, alkaloids, tritepenes, stilbenes, tannins, steroids, coumarin, saponins, triterpenoids, glycosides, taraxerone, cryptoxanthin, taraxerol, etc. These exhibited varied biological effects like anti-inflammatory, analgesic, ant diabetic, antipyretic, antioxidant, hypoglycaemic, hepatoprotective, anticancerous. In recent years the global focus is shifting towards the plant based medicines and there is lot of research is being done on these fruits. Thus an attempt has been made in this article to compile the information available in the minor fruits.

Western Ghats region of India is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world. The topography, wide rainfall variation and varied temperature conditions enable inhabitancy of several plant species. This plant wealth is being used in various forms by tribes and natives of the area for centuries. These gain further importance due to the fact that ripe fruits serve as a source of food and medicine to tribes throughout the year. These wild fruits are source of minerals and vitamins in the diet of the rural people. The potential productivity and floristic diversity of the area have attracted the experts. There are more than 50 wild edible fruit species are available in Western Ghats region. These belong to 25 families and 38 genera. Out of the 25 families, the important ones as a source of fruits are Apocynaceae, Anacardiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, Sapotaceae and Sapindaceae. The fruiting period of different species ranges between two and six months. The highest number of species mature from April to May. The availability of these fruits reduces after October. Some of these fruits, such as Mangifera indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Carissa carandas, Emblica officinalis and Syzygium cuminii, have been given emphasis in order to identify high yield and high fruit quality clones and standardization of production technologies. The collection, conservation and utilization on some of the fruits, such as Garcinia indica and Garcinia gummigutta have started at various research organizations. Some other fruits, namely Chrysophyllum roxburghii Few plants were also provided to local growers on farm conservation. The continuous depletion of forest and the increasing human disturbance resulted in losses of these species. There is need to conserve these fruits for future.