Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg (breadfruit) nutritional characterization and local uses in Comoros Islands

Food insecurity and malnutrition affect a large portion of the population in the Comoros Union. Despite the efforts of the local government to combat under nourishment, hunger and malnutrition are still major causes of infant and child mortality. However, the country has a considerable diversity of food resources that are neglected or still not valorised such as breadfruit, a local fruit underexploited despite its abundance in all regions of the Comoros Islands. Although the species could contribute to addressing the local problems of food insecurity and malnutrition, this resource is only little exploited by the Comoros population. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and nutraceutical traits of Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg by carrying out spectrophotometric and chromatographic analyses on both the bioactive compounds of Comoros breadfruit with the objective of contributing to the development of future traditional and technological uses of this species, such as for local production of infant flour. All the methanolic extracts showed similar total polyphenolic values, ranging from 28.30 +/- 3.71 to 29.69 +/- 1.40 mg(GAE) 100 g(-1) of dried weight (DW). The HPLC analysis of the different dried breadfruit samples confirmed that breadfruit may be a good source of phenolic constituents. The main identified phenolic groups were cinnamic acids (with a maximum of 51.88 +/- 2.63 mg 100 g(-1) DW for chlorogenic acid) and tannins. The highest value of antioxidant activity was 6.40 +/- 1.02 mmol Fe2+ kg(-1) DW, and the lowest value was 1.99 +/- 0.33 mmol Fe2+ kg(-1) DW. This preliminary phytochemical investigation may provide a contribution to the identification and quantification of lead compounds responsible for traditional nutritional and therapeutic claims.