Abstract:
Palmyrah palm has diverse biochemical properties due to the presence of
nutritional and bioactive compounds in different parts of the tree. The objective
of the study was to identify, determine and to perform a comparative analysis of
existing phytochemicals in the fruit pulp of palmyrah palm grown in different
geological locations of Sri Lanka such as Point Pedro, Puttalam, Valikamam and
Delft. The aqueous extracts of palmyrah fruit pulp obtained from four different
locations of Sri Lanka were screened for different phytochemicals such as
flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, gum and mucilages,
saponins, alkaloids, carbohydrates and proteins. All the four fruit pulps of
palmyrah palm obtained from different locations showed positive results for
flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, terpenoids, gum and mucilages, saponins,
carbohydrates and proteins.There were significant differences in the quantities
of flavonoids, tannins, proteins, carbohydrates and total sugars among the
palmyrah fruit pulps of the four locations of Sri Lanka. The pulp of palmyrah fruit
collected from Point Pedro showed significantly higher quantity of flavonoid
(0.09 mg/mL), tannin (0.18 mg/mL) and protein (0.22 mg/mL) than that of
other three locations. The mean carbohydrate content (2.75 mg/mL) of the
palmyrah fruit pulp of Delft was significantly higher than that of other three
locations. The mean total sugar content (0.11 mg/mL) was significantly higher in
the pulp of palmyrah from Valikamam than that of other three locations. This
study revealed that the palmyrah pulp obtained from the palms of different
locations had specifically different phytochemicals significantly higher in their
quantities. However, palmyrah fruit pulp of Point Pedro location was rich in
important phytochemicals such as flavonoid, tannins and proteins than that of
other three locations of Sri Lanka. Therefore, it could be used for further studies
in traditional medicine and other palmyrah fruit pulp related investigations.
