Nutritional properties of the largest bamboo fruit Melocanna baccifera and its ecological significance

Abstract

Melocanna baccifera is a unique bamboo which produces the largest fruits in the grass family. Its gregarious flowering once in 45–50 years in north east India and adjacent regions is a botanical enigma, resulting in a glut of fruits. Proper utilization of M. baccifera fruits is not extant, and huge quantities of fruits are left underexploited due to lack of scientific information on their chemical composition and nutritional potential. Here we report the nutritional properties of M. baccifera fruits, and the ecological significance of its fruiting. This pear-shaped, fleshy bamboo fruit is rich in amino acids (lysine, glutamic acid), sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose) and phenolics (ferulic acid). Protein content (free, bound) in M. baccifera fruits is very low. Fruits are rich in saturated fatty acids (palmitic acid), minerals (potassium), and only B series vitamins (B3) are detected in them. Rat feeding experiments showed that M. baccifera fruit alone is not a complete food, but with other protein supplements, it is a valuable food additive. This study could lead to better utilization of M. baccifera fruits during future flowering/fruiting events. These results could also help in the successful management of rodent outbreaks and other ecological problems associated with M. baccifera fruiting.

UPLC–Q–TOF–MS/MS Analysis of Phenolic Compounds from the Fruit of Cephalostachyum fuchsianum Gamble and Their Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activities

“…nutrients and polyphenolic compounds [16]. As shown in Table 1, the TPC and FP was 8.721 and 17.679 μmol FAE/g DS, respectively, and the TPC of I FP was 7.544 and 12.903 μmol FAE/g DS, respectively.…”

“…Phenolic compounds are common secondary metabolites which are widely distributed in plants. Bamboo fruit, such as the fruit of Melocanna baccifera, is generally rich in nutrients and polyphenolic compounds [16]. As shown in Table 1, the TPC of SPs in FF and FP was 8.721 and 17.679 µmol FAE/g DS, respectively, and the TPC of IBPs in FF and FP was 7.544 and 12.903 µmol FAE/g DS, respectively.…”

Ethnomedicinal Plant Diversity in Badalchori Vadi Sora Village Common Forest of Rangamati, Bangladesh

“…Kurz) species exhibited its phytosociological dominance in the current investigations, with the greatest IVI value as well as a substantial proportion of RD, RA, and RF values (Table 2). Therefore, Melocanna baccifera, locally known as Mulibash, has an enormous value in ecosystem balance, and has socio-economic significance not only for making furniture, handicrafts, housing (Nilkanta et al, 2017) but also for food (Govindan et al, 2016), industrial chemical components (Tripathi et al, 2018;Lalhruaitluanga et al, 2011) and medicinal importance (Kuddus et al, 2013).…”

The Bamboo Flowering Cycle Sheds Light on Flowering Diversity

“…Fargesia denudata 50-60, 63 (Shao, 1986;Yu et al, 1987;Liu and Fu, 2007) F. murielae 35, 80-100, 110 (Tredici, 1998;Li and Denich, 2004) F. nitida 50-60 (Qin, 1995) F. robusta 50-60 (Liu and Fu, 2007) F. scabrida 50-60 (Qin, 1995;Liu and Fu, 2007) F. spathacea 35, 110 (Li and Denich, 2004) Guadua chacoensis 31 (Guerreiro, 2014) G. paraguayana 38 (Guerreiro, 2014) G. sarcocarpa 26-29 (Nelson, 1994;de Carvalho et al, 2013) G. trinii 30-32 (Dutra, 1938;Janzen, 1976;Guerreiro, 2014) G. weberbaueri 27-28 (Guerreiro, 2014) Himalayacalamus falconeri 20-38 (Tingle, 1904;Bean, 1907;Holttum, 1956;Janzen, 1976;Fan and Qiu, 1987) Indocalamus latifolius ∼100 (Anonymous, 1961) I. tessellatus 60, >115 (McClure, 1966;Yuan et al, 2008) Kuruna wightiana 1 (Janzen, 1976;Fan and Qiu, 1987) Melocanna baccifera 7-10, 26-50 (Ueda, 1960;Janzen, 1976;Ram and Gopal, 1981;Fu, 1985;Fan and Qiu, 1987;Lin et al, 2009;Singleton et al, 2010;Govindan et al, 2016) (Dutra, 1938) M. burchellii 30 (Dutra, 1938) M. clausenii 32 (Guerreiro, 2014) M. fistulosa 30-34 (Janzen, 1976;Jaksic and Lim...…”