A review on the unexplored and underutilized Arenga species in India

The family Arecaceace, also known as Palmae, includes six subfamilies, about 200 genera, and the species count ranges from 2500-2700 [1]. Their geographic distribution between 44° North and 44° South indicates that they mostly prefer tropical ecosystems [2]. The highest palm diversity is reported to be in Asia and the Pacific islands with 1385 species, followed by north and south America with about 1,147 species. Globally palms are utilized for various products, including its seed oil, leaves for thatching houses, and cigarette wrappers; the fruits of some palms are edible, and some of them are known for their sap exudates. The medicinal uses of a few palms have been known to the tribal communities in different parts of the world. Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), sugar palm (Arenga pinnata), nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), kitul palm (Caryota urens), palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris) oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and raffia palms (Raphia spp.) reported being the sugar-yielding palms in Asia and Africa (Dalibard,1999) [3]. Genus Arenga includes several palm species native to Southeast Asia, southern China, New Guinea, and northern Australia. [4,5]. The palms range from small to medium in size, growing to 2–20 m tall, with pinnate leaves 2–12 m long [6].