Bioactive compounds, food applications and health benefits of Parkia speciosa (stinky beans): A review

Abstract

The plant community comprises certain underutilized plant species which has proven to be beneficial to human health. Parkia speciosa is considered as one of the highly underutilized plants with multidimensional utility and benefits. The nutritional composition of the seeds is substantial with rich proteins (6.0-27.5%), fats (1.6-13.3%), carbohydrates (68.3-68.7%), minerals (0.5-0.8%) and fibers (1.7-2.0%). Edible part (100 g) contains essential minerals like calcium (108-265.1 mg), magnesium (29 mg), potassium (341 mg), phosphorous (115 mg), and iron (2.2-2.7 mg) required for different metabolic reactions in human body. Bioactive compounds like phenols [51.9-84.24 mg Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g], flavonoids [47.4-49.6 mg retinol equivalent (RE)/100 g on dry weight basis], terpenoids like β-sitosterol (3.42% of fatty acid content), stigmasterol (2.18% of fatty acid content), lupeol (0.71% of fatty acid content), campesterol (2.29% of fatty acid content) are also present. These bioactive compounds and peptides possess different medicinal properties like anti-hypertensive, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-microbial activity and antinociceptive. P. speciosa is traditionally consumed as vegetable, salad and in boiled form. Rich nutrient value and photochemistry suggest that there is tremendous need of scientific work to explore its food utilization. The review describes nutritional, phytochemical compound and the potential of P. speciosa for functional food formulation.