Bioactive constituents and health promoting compounds of underutilized fruits of the northern Himalayas of India: a review

Abstract

Wild and underutilized plants bearing fruits widely grow throughout the northern Himalayas, including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Uttarakhand states of India. The fruits of these plants have the potential for rural development in Northern Himalayas by developing more commercial products. Ficus auriculata, Rubus ellipticus, Myrica esculenta, Ficus palmata, Pyracantha crenulate, Prunus armeniaca, Berberis asiatiica, Pyrus pashia, Rubus niveus, Carissa spinarum, Cordia dichotoma, Flacourtia indica, Malus sikkimensis, Olea ferruginea, Elaeagnus latifolia, Corylus jacquemontii, and Pinus gerardiana are some examples of the plant species. Local people mainly consume the fruits of these plant species and a few of them are used for different processed food items such as jam, jelly, juice, squash, and sauce on a small scale. Therefore, fruits of wild and underutilized plants have potential nutritional values. They are widely used as sources of protein, fat, carbohydrate, macronutrients, and micronutrients. These fruits also contain multipurpose and diversified classes of phytochemical compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, glycosides, and alkaloids, which are applied to treat various human and livestock health ailments. The extracts of underutilized fruits are widely applied to treat cold, fever, fertility disorders, diabetes, and skin diseases. Their phytochemical compounds also demonstrated antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, and antinociceptive activities. Thus, this review highlights the current research status about the nutritional profiling, chemical composition, and utilization of these valuable fruits effectively/adequately to develop new food and pharmaceutical products. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].