Broad-Spectrum Nutritional and Pharmacological Significance of the Wild Hyphaene thebaica Palm Fruit

Abstract

Despite the number of nutritional and medicinal plant-based products that have been studied for decades, there are still many rare and underutilized plants of biological importance, whose nutritional and biochemical properties are unmatched, especially the wild doum palm, Hyphaene thebaica. Therefore, it is necessary to unveil the potential advantages of the wild fruit Hyphaene thebaica. The edible wild palm fruit is a rich source of novel nutraceutical and pharmaceutical constituents. It is a rare, underutilized but highly nutritious fruit found in the tropics, and it is rich in a variety of time-proven healthy macro- and micronutrients. In addition to its domestic uses, it has a variety of significant healing potentials such as antioxidant properties, antihypertensive properties, hypolipidemic properties, antidiabetic properties, antimicrobial properties, cytotoxic/anticancer properties, hypolipidemic and neuroprotective properties, anti-inflammatory properties, and hepatoprotective properties, among others. We hereby present a review of this multifunctional palm fruit, a rare and highly potent edible palm fruit with a broad spectrum of biochemical, domestic, nutraceutical, and pharmacological properties, which makes it a rare gem in the class of plant-based functional food products. Much research and more clinical trials are necessary to further ascertain the veracity of the reported bioactivities through isolation, purification, and identification of the bioactive compounds. The multipurpose nature of the plant necessitates more research on its utilization in the fulfilment of various aspects of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.