Major Australian tropical fruits biodiversity: Bioactive compounds and their bioactivities

Abstract

The plant kingdom harbours many diverse bioactive molecules of pharmacological relevance. Temperate fruits and vegetables have been highly studied in this regard, but there have been fewer studies of fruits and vegetables from the tropics. As global consumers demand and are prepared to pay for new appealing and exotic foods, tropical fruits are now being more intensively investigated. Polyphenols and major classes of compounds like flavonoids or carotenoids are ubiquitously present in these fruits, as they are in the temperate ones, but particular classes of compounds are unique to tropical fruits and other plant parts. Bioactivity studies of compounds specific to tropical fruit plants may lead to new drug discoveries, while the synergistic action of the wide range of diverse compounds contained in plant extracts underlies nutritional and health properties of tropical fruits and vegetables. The evidence for in vitro and animal bioactivities is a strong indicator of the pharmacological promise shown in tropical fruit plant biodiversity. In this review, we will discuss both the occurrence of potential bioactive compounds isolated and identified from a selection of tropical fruit plants of importance in Australia, as well as recent studies of bioactivity associated with such fruits and other fruit plant parts.

Soluble polysaccharides reduce binding and inhibitory activity of tea polyphenols against porcine pancreatic α-amylase

“…Dietary polyphenols have been reported to have inhibitory activity against a-amylase, an enzyme that catalyses starch digestion to maltooligosaccharides; therefore, they have been considered as alternatives to pharmaceutical interventions for the treatment of type II diabetes (Barrett et al, 2013;Pierson et al, 2012;Rohn, Rawel, & Kroll, 2002). The inhibition of a-amylase by polyphenols arises as a result of hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of the phenolic compounds and the catalytic sites of amylase and hydrophobic interactions between the aromatic moieties of polyphenols and the enzyme (Miao et al, 2013).…”

Immunomodulatory effect of papaya ( Carica papaya ) pulp and seed extracts as a potential natural treatment for bacterial stress

“…In papaya, β‐cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and β‐carotene were the main identified carotenoids (Sancho et al, ). Carotenoids are abundant in several tropical fruit species, while act as strong antioxidants that protect the cell membrane lipids from free radicals (Amin et al, ; Maria do Socorro et al, ; Pierson et al, ).…”

AVALIAÇÃO DOS COMPOSTOS BIOATIVOS PRESENTES NO RESÍDUO DE GOIABA VERMELHA (Psidium guajava L.) DESIDRATADA

“…Várias frutas tropicais (açaí, buriti, goiaba, manga, abacaxi, acerola, mamão, caju, graviola, pitanga e sapoti) já foram apontadas como fonte de carotenoides (DEMBITSKY et al, 2011;PIERSON et al, 2012;SILVA et al, 2014). Em relação ao teor de carotenoides totais, neste estudo foi encontrado 262, 01 μg/ g no resíduo desidratado.…”