Bioprospecting of Selected Mangrove Fruits Based-Nutritional, Antioxidant, and Element Properties to Support Functional Food Materials for Pulau Sembilan Coastal Communities, Indonesia

Mangrove plants are popularized for their edible and vital source of food. Mangroves in Pulau Sembilan, Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia were supported by the high plant diversity. These major tree species were provided in mangrove fruits annually and assist in finding a new variety of functional food materials. Bioprospecting was denoted the exploration of bioresources material to useful derived mangrove products. The present study aims to assess bioprospecting based-nutritional parameters, antioxidant content, and elemental analysis (micronutrient and macronutrient) in fruits of eight mangrove plants: Avicennia officinalis, Bruguiera cylindrica, Rhizophora apiculata, Ceriops tagal, R. stylosa, R. mucronata, Xylocarpus granatum and Sonneratia alba in Pulau Sembilan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Out of seven nutritional parameters, A. officinalis recorded the highest in three parameters (protein, total sugar, and non-reducting sugar), X. granatum recorded highest in two parameters (fat and moisture content), among all studied species followed by R. mucronata, and R. stylosa in one parameter (ash and reducing sugar), respectively. Among the antioxidant content, R. mucronata exhibited the highest ascorbic acid content and phenolic acid. Beta carotenoid was maximum in C. tagal. The highest macro element varied among the mangrove fruits: sodium was recorded in R. apiculata, potassium content was noted in X. granatum, and calcium was in S. alba. Likewise, the highest microelement was spread among the mangrove fruits:  X. granatum (iron), R. mucronata (manganese), A. officinalis (cupper), and S. alba (zinc). Thus, this study's findings showed the mangrove fruits have reported prospective values as antioxidants, bio-nutrition, and renewable food sources potential for the adjacent mangrove.