Molecules 2012, 17, 11931-11946; doi:10.3390/molecules171011931 OPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules Review Fruit Pod Extracts as a Source of Nutraceuticals and Pharmaceuticals Azila Abdul Karim 1 and Azrina Azlan 2,3,* 1 Cocoa Innovation & Technology Centre, Malaysian Cocoa Board, PT12621, Nilai Industrial Area, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia; E-Mail:
[email protected] 2 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 3 Laboratory of Halal Science Research, Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +603-8947-2466; Fax: +603-8942-6769. Received: 21 June 2012; in revised form: 27 September 2012 / Accepted: 29 September 2012 / Published: 10 October 2012 Abstract: Fruit pods contain various beneficial compounds that have biological activities and can be used as a source of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Although pods or pericarps are usually discarded when consuming the edible parts of fruits, they contain some compounds that exhibit biological activities after extraction. Most fruit pods included in this review contain polyphenolic components that can promote antioxidant effects on human health. Additionally, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and chemopreventive effects are associated with these fruit pod extracts. Besides polyphenolics, other compounds such as xanthones, carotenoids and saponins also exhibit health effects and can be potential sources of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical components. In this review, information on fruit pods or pericarp of Garcinia mangostana, Ceratonia siliqua, Moringa oleifera, Acacia nilotica, Sapindus rarak and Prosopis cineraria is presented and discussed with regard to their biological activity of the major compounds existing in them.