Introduction. Nypa fruticans is one of the mangrove plants
in Malaysia. Leaves of the plant are traditionally used for thatching, while the sap is
useful for producing an alcoholic drink, sugar and syrup, as well as vinegar. At present,
N. fruticans fruit is considered as an underutilized fruit. Its flesh
(endocarp) is considered nutritionally inferior. Hence, our study aimed to determine the
proximate composition and total phenolic content of ripe and unripe flesh of
N. fruticans to explore its food uses as a source of nutrients.
Materials and methods. Determination of proximate content followed the AOAC
methods, while total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent
assay. Results and discussion. The results showed significant differences for
all the proximate values (moisture content, ash, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude fat,
and insoluble and soluble fiber) between the ripe and unripe flesh of the fruit. The flesh
of ripe fruit also had higher (P < 0.05) total phenolic content than
its unripe counterpart. Conclusion. The ripe and unripe flesh of Nypa
fruticans could potentially be used as functional food ingredients in the
future.