Terminalia ferdinandiana

For another plant also commonly known as 'billygoat plum', see Planchonia careya.

Terminalia ferdinandiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Combretaceae
Genus:	Terminalia
Species:	T. ferdinandiana
Binomial name
Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell

Terminalia ferdinandiana, also called the gubinge, billygoat plum, Kakadu plum or murunga is a flowering plant in the family Combretaceae, native to Australia, widespread throughout the tropical woodlands from northwestern Australia to eastern Arnhem Land.

Its vitamin C concentration may be as high as 3200-5000mg/100g ^[1] (compared with 50mg/100g for oranges), possibly the highest known of any fruit.

Description

Terminalia ferdinandiana is a slender, small to medium-sized tree growing up to 32 m in height, with creamy-grey, flaky bark and deciduous pale green leaves. The flowers are small, creamy-white, perfumed, and borne along spikes in the leaf axils towards the ends of the branches. Flowering is from September to December. (Southern hemisphere spring/summer.)

The fruit is yellow-green, about 2 centimetres long and 1 centimetre in diameter, almond-sized with a short beak at the tip, and contain one large seed. They ripen from March onwards.

Uses

The fruit, now commonly known as Kakadu plum or billygoat plum, is used as bush tucker by the Australian Aborigines. The roundish, light green fruits are usually eaten raw, although they can also be made into a jam. The fruits gained increased popularity with Aborigines after the vitamin C results were widely reported.

The Kakadu plum is most notable for its high vitamin C content discovered by analysis carried out by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand).^[2]

Kakadu plum is more commonly sold as an ingredient for cosmetics but is slowly entering new markets as a "nutraceutical" in food supplements and fortified beverages. While the fruits have been trialled in plantation and some harvests from these irrigated fields is now supplying market demand, the vitamin C levels tend to fall with the less harsh growing conditions compared to wild stands of trees. Aboriginal communities in Australia's Top End benefit as they wild harvest the fruits to supply the growing demand. Unfortunately, this demand has also lead to illegal and premature harvesting by commercial operations seeking to exceed the quantities allowed by government licensing.^[3]

Medicinal Uses

T. ferdinandiana was used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous ailments. The fruit were eaten by Australian Aborigines on long treks or hunting trips and was considered more valuable as a medicine rather than as a food.^[4][5][6] The inner bark of the tree was used to treat a variety of skin disorders and infections including wounds, sores and boils.^[7] It is also effective in controlling fungal infections such as ringworm, and in the treatment of bacterial infections including its use in treating leprosy. A recent study has reported on the antibacterial activity of T. ferdinandiana.^[8]

Recently, T. ferdinandiana has been attracting attention due to its interesting phytochemistry. In particular, extremely high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) have been reported for T. ferdinandiana fruit. ^[9][10] Indeed, T. ferdinandiana is now known as the richest source of vitamin C of any fruit in the world, with levels over 900 times higher than the same weight of blueberries.^[10] Some studies have estimated the levels of ascorbic acid in T. ferdinandiana fruit to be as high as 5.5 % of dry weight, in comparison to approximately 0.5 % dry weight in oranges, grapefruit and limes.^[11] Ascorbic acid is well known for its ability to scavenge free radicals and thereby reduce oxidative stress.^[12] As the induction of oxidative stress is known to be associated with some cancers, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration disorders, diabetes and obesity,^[13] the high levels of ascorbic acid associated with T. ferdinandiana fruit may also have beneficial health related bioactivities.

References

1. ^ Bush Book Volume 2, Chapter 3: Food and Nutrition
2. ^ Kakadu plum Fruitipedia by Dr. Chiranjit Parmar. Accessed July 2011
3. ^ Bushtucker harvest sparks controversy :: ABC Kimberley WA
4. ^ Clarke PA. Aboriginal people and their plants. 2007; Rosenberg publishing Pty Ltd, Kenthurst, NSW, Australia.
5. ^ Isaacs J. Bush Food. 1987; Weldons Pty Ltd, Australia.
6. ^ Hegarty MP, Hegarty EE. Food Safety of Australian Plant Bushfoods, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 2001; publication number 01/28, ACT, Australia.
7. ^ Gorman JT, Griffiths AD, Whitehead PJ. An analysis of the use of plant products for commerce in remote Aboriginal communities of Northern Australia. Econ Bot 2006; 60(4): 362-373.
8. ^ Cock, I.E. and Mohanty, S., 2011, Evaluation of the antibacterial activity and toxicity of Terminalia ferdinandia fruit extracts, Pharmacognosy Journal, 3, 72-79.
9. ^ Konczak I, Zabaras D, Dunstan M, Aguas P. Antioxidant capacity and hydrophilic phytochemicals in commercially grown native Australian fruits, Food Chem 2010; 123: 1048-1054.
10. ^ ^{a b} Netzel M, Netzel G, Tian Q, Schwartz S, Konczak I. Native Australian fruits – a novel source of antioxidants for food, Innov Food Sci Emerg Technol 2007; 8: 339-346.
11. ^ Woods B. A study of the intra-specific variantions and commercial potential of Terminalia ferdinandiana (Excell) (the Kakadu Plum). 1995; M.Sc. Thesis. Northern Territory University, Darwin.
12. ^ Guaiquil VH, Vera HC, Golde DW. Mechanism of Vitamin C Inhibition of Cell Death Induced by Oxidative Stress in Glutathione-depleted HL-60 Cells. J Biol Chem 2001; 276 (44): 40955-40961.
13. ^ Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC. Oxygen toxicity, oxygen radicals, transition metals and disease. Biochem J 1984; 219: 1-14.

• Cherikoff, Vic, The Bushfood Handbook, ISBN 0-7316-6904-5.
• Low, Tim, Wild Food Plants of Australia, ISBN 0-207-14383-8.
• Pharm.J. 229: 505 (1982). Reported 2300-3150 mg ascorbic acid per 100g of edible fruit.

External links

• http://www.sgapqld.org.au/bushtucker15.html Description and picture
• Account of eating the fruit in the wild
• Use in Health food market (pdf)