Preliminary phytochemical screening of raw and thermally processed palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer linn.) fruit pulp

Abstract

Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer Linn.) can be found in tropical countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. The palmyra palm (Boraassus flabellifer Linn.) fruit is one of the less known tropical fruits. The major reasons for the underutilization of these fruits are separation of the pulp from the fiber and its bitter taste. The fruits are stomachic, sedative, laxative and aphrodisiac in nature. The current study was conducted to screen the different phytochemicals including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, glycosides, saponins, phenolics, tannin, carbohydrate, protein and steroids and sterols from aqueous and methanolic extracts of raw palmyrah palm fruit pulp (RPFP) and thermally processed palmyrah palm fruit pulp (PPFP). The result revealed that both the RPFP and PPFP contain all the phytochemicals except protein. The terpenes, glycosides, carbohydrate and steroids and sterols are present in appreciate amount and proteins are abscent in all the extraction of both samples.  Alkaloids were present appreciably in the aqueous extraction of RPFP and present fewer amounts in PPFP. But methanol extraction of both RPFP and PPFP contain alkaloids strongly.  The flavonoids, phenols and tannins were present in both the extraction of RPFP and PPFP. Glycosides were found in the aqueous extraction but present appreciable amount in methanol extraction of RPFP and PPFP. On processing alkaloids were reduced in the aqueous extraction of PPFP and saponin in both the extraction of RPFP and PPFP. Therefore no major changes in the presence of phytochemical components due to heat processing were found in this current study.