Lansium domesticum (Langsat, Meliaceae) is a tropical fruit mainly found in Southeast Asian countries, particularly in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
1. Introduction
Fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs are the richest sources of health-promoting compounds such as vitamins, β-carotene, minerals, flavonoids, phenolics, and polyphenolics that exert significant bioactivities
[1][2]. Genus
Lansium belongs to the Meliaceae family, which includes about 560 species and 50 genera that are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions
[3]. Genus
Lansium commonly recognized species are
Lansium breviracemosum Kosterm.,
L. membranaceum (Kosterm.) Mabb., and
L. domesticum Corrêa.
[4]. This genus is represented by only one species,
L. domesticum, in Peninsular Malaysia
[4]. While in Java, it is represented by two species;
L. domesticum Corrêa and
L. humile Hassk., as well as a variety
L. domesticum var. pubescens Koorders et Valeton have been recognized
[5][6].
L. domesticum is a common evergreen Southeast Asian tree that occurs both in the wild or cultivated in these regions, where it represents one of the commonly cultivated fruits
[7]. It has high market potential and adequate economic value in Southeast Asian countries. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are considered to be the main producers of
L. domesticum. Additionally, the plant is cultivated in Burma, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, India, Hawaii, Surinam, and Australia
[5][8][9].
L. domesticum Correa is a complicated aggregate species of different plant forms. It’s four prevalent types are Duku, Dokong (longkong), Duku-langsat, and Langsat. Duku and Langsat are the two most common types. Duku-langsat, Langsat, and Duku are domestic to Peninsular Malaysia, however, Dokong is found in southern Thailand and has been cultured in Peninsular Malaysia for >10 years
[5][7]. The Duku-langsat is an intermediate type, it is conventionally regarded as uppermost type to both Duku and Langsat
[4][7].
L. domesticum includes two botanically distinct varieties; var. pubescens and var. domesticum (
Table 1)
[10].
Table 1. Characteristics of the major distinct forms and varieties of L. domesticum.
The plant has different synonyms;
Aglaia domestica (Correa) Pellegrin,
A. aquea (Jack) Kosterm.,
A. intricatoreticulata Kosterm.,
A. dookoo Griff.,
A. merrillii Elmer,
A. steenisii Kosterm.,
A. sepalina (Kosterm.) Kosterm.,
Lachanodendron domesticum Nees,
Lansium domesticum var. aqueum Jack,
L. aqueum (Jack) M.Roem.,
L. domesticum var.
typicum Backer,
L. domesticum var.
pubescens Koord. & Valet.,
L. javanicum M. Roem.,
L. javanicum Koord. & Valet. ex Moll & Janss.,
L. parasiticum var.
aqueum (Jack) Sahni & Bennet,
L. sepalinum Kosterm,
L. parasiticum Sahni & Bennet,
L. pedicellatum Kosterm., and
Taeniochlaena polyneura Schellenberg. Additionally, different local names have been given for
L. domesticum [5][15][16] (
Table 2).
Table 2. Different local names of
L. domesticum according to the nationality
[5][14][15][16].
Its tree has a 40–50 ft height with long leaves which are dark green and pinnate with a glossy surface. The flowers are present in clusters on the old branches and trunk of the tree. They are mostly bisexual, small with a yellow-white color. The fruits grow in clusters and are small, round (3–5 cm diameter) with a leathery yellow skin that can be thin or thick. The fruit’s flesh is translucent and juicy with six or five segments which have seeds. The fruits may be sweet or acidic relying on the growing conditions and variety
[5]. The delicious, succulent, fruit aril is eaten fresh directly after peeling or can also be candied or preserved in syrup
[5][17][18]. The jams, juices, sherbet, and ice creams are the most popular langsat products. On the contrary, the seeds and peel are the main byproducts after the flesh’s consumption, neither of which are widely used. However, the seeds and peels are a rich pool of bio-metabolites
[12]. In Indonesia, the fruit is a very popular dessert, and the peel was traditionally known to be toxic to domestic animals
[19]. The plant extracts exhibited various biological activities, including antimalarial, antifeedant, anti-aging, wound healing antioxidant, cytotoxic, analgesic, antibacterial, antimutagenic, insecticidal, and larvicidal. Phytochemical studies of
L. domesticum indicated that triterpenoids particularly onoceranoids with unusual and unrivaled skeleton, cycloartenoid, and tetranortriterpenoid are the main constituents reported from this plant that displayed remarkable bioactivities.
In recent decades, herbal medicines have substantiated their publicity among consumers for both traditional and cultural reasons. Herbal medicines have been utilized for treating various ailments and diseases in many populations for thousands of years. They are considered the main treatment approach in many countries because of their safety, reliability, and affordability in comparison to synthetic ones that can cause adverse effects on human health. L. domesticum has immense role in providing medicinal and realistic value in many developing countries particularly in regions where medicine is unreachable, and the populations are in the need of healthcare.
2. Traditional Uses of L. domesticum
The different parts of
L. domesticum have various medicinal and non-medicinal uses in many nationalities (
Table 3). The peel is wealthy in non-toxic oleoresin that is utilized against diarrhea and fevers
[8]. In Thailand, the peel and flesh have been used as facial toners, wash gels, and masks, as well as a skin moisturizer and whitening cream. Additionally, the seeds possess antifeedant and febrifugal capacities and pericarp is utilized for repelling mosquitoes
[20][21].
L. domesticum bark was used by people in the Pakuli region of Palu for malaria treatment. Moreover, the boiled bark with water was utilized to reduce pain and fever
[22].
Table 3. Non-medicinal and medicinal uses of L. domesticum.
3. Nutritional Value of L. domesticum
The fruit tastes sweet and sour. It has a sour taste due to its low pH at about 3.85 that is aligns with the reported total acidity of fruit ≈1.04%
[34]. Its taste has been resembled to a combination of grapefruit and grape and is considered excellent by most people. Its fructose, sucrose, and glucose contents are accountable for the sweet taste
[35]. The fruit is a prosperous source of minerals, fats, protein, organic acids, carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins. Various studies reported the evaluation of the nutritional value of this fruit. Chemical composition and mineral contents of flesh, peel, and seed of a fruit sample collected from Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia using ICP-OES (inductively couple plasma optical emission spectrometry) were previously evaluated
[36]. The seeds had the highest crude protein (3.0 g/100 g), carbohydrates, and sodium, whereas the peels possessed high contents of crude fat, ash, calcium, potassium, and magnesium
[36]. Furthermore, the seeds are rich in starch. Additionally, it was reported that the seeds and peels could have higher nutrient contents than pulp fruits
[37]. In Thailand, the nutrient composition per100 g langsat fruit had energy (66 cal), moisture (82.9%), protein (0.9 g), fat (0.1 g), fibre (0.3 g), carbohydrate (15.3 g), Ca (5 mg), Fe (0.7 mg), P (35 mg), vitamin A (15 I.U.), vitamin B2 (0.02 mg), vitamin B1 (0.08 mg), niacin (0.1 mg), and vitamin C (46 mg)
[38]. In addition, it was found that 100 g edible portion of duku showed 34 kcal energy, 90 g water, 0.4 g protein, 0.0 g fat, 8.2 g carbohydrate, 0.9 g fiber, 0.5 g ash, 10 mg Ca, 20 mg P, 1.0 mg Fe, 12 mg Na, 230 mg K, 0.05 mg vitamin B1, 0.02 mg vitamin B2, 0.5 mg niacin, and 13.4 mg vitamin C
[39]. Meanwhile, 100 g longkong fruit flesh contained protein 1.0 g and crude fat 0.5 g, which are higher than that of duku and langsat fruit
[18][40]. Moreover, 100 g of longkong contains water 84 g, fiber 0.8 g, carbohydrates 14.2 g, Ca 19 mg, ash 0.6 g, K 275 mg, and vitamins (B2, B1, and C). The energy value is 238 kJ/100 g
[16][41][42]. It is noteworthy that sodium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium, iron, and manganese are the major minerals in the fruit
[12][43].
4. L. domesticum Enzymes
Enzymes are important biocatalysts in food biotechnology. Plant-derived enzymes (e.g., bromelain, invertase, amylase, papain, ficin, lipoxygenase, etc.) have played a remarkable role in various food industries, for example, dairy and bakery products, syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Besides, the plants can also be used as raw materials for enhancing the potential of the microbial enzyme that are employed in the food industry.
L. domesticum fruit and pericarp are wealthy, with different active enzymes. On the other hand, these enzymes could contribute to the spoilage of the fruit. The fruits activated these enzymes for protection when they suffer from changes in the environment and/or storage temperature
[12]. For example, oxidoreductases are activated when the peel or fruit is damaged. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase that are found in the pericarp oxidize the phenols to yield browning compounds
[44][45]. Chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase are reported from the fruit peel that possessed antifungal potential towards Metarhizium guizhouense
[46]. Polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME), as well as antioxidant enzymes: GPX (glutathione peroxidase), SOD (superoxide dismutase), and catalase (CAT) were detected in fully matured fruit that possessed high activities during fruit maturation
[47]. Furthermore, the fruit had LOX (lipoxygenase) that is accountable for the polyunsaturated fatty acids deoxygenation and converting them into fragrance and signaling molecules for regulating leukotriene
[48]. It was reported that polygalacturonase, pectin methylesterase, and cellulases rise the sugar profile in the fruit and decrease the firmness of the fruit during ripening
[47].