Phenolic compounds and the physicochemical, nutritional, antioxidant, and functional characteristics of peel, flesh, and kernel of Medemia argun (argun palm) fruit

This study investigated the nutritional and chemical compositions, as well as functional properties, of argun palm (Medemia argun) fruit. Flesh, peel, and kernel of argun fruits were analyzed based on their dry weight. The kernel contained the highest carbohydrate and fiber contents (85.93% dry weight (dwt) and 34.56% dwt, respectively), while the flesh contained substantial amounts of Ca (886.08 mg/100 g dwt) and K (3504.83 mg/100 g dwt). Argun flesh was a good source of B-complex vitamins, sucrose, glucose, xylose, and fructose. Oleic acid was the predominant monounsaturated fatty acid, while pentadecylic acid was the major saturated fatty acid in argun oil. The total essential amino acids composition of kernel, peel, and flesh were 454.40, 1094.50, and 1298.38 mg/100 g dwt, respectively. Argun peel had the highest phenolic content (43.76 mg gallic acid equivalent /g dwt) with highest antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH∙ free radical scavenging activity expressed as the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), ABTS∙+ radical cation, and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP). There were significant differences among all argun fruit parts in terms of the functional properties.