Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.): A potential fruit for industrial use, serving nutraceutical and livelihood interests and enhancing climate resilience
Panchaal Bhattacharjee, Shubranil Das, Sumit Kumar Das, Subhash Chander
Abstract
The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.), a member of the family Sapindaceae finds its natural habitat in tropical regions of South East Asia. Present cultivation of this crop covers different humid tropic regions of the world across the continents. The utilization of this fruit in various means to serve the interests of industrial and nutraceutical sector are being explored in the recent past; cultivation of rambutan also trends to develop livelihood quality of growers due to its demand in export and the fresh market as an exotic fruit attributed by its peculiar vibrant red hairy outgrowth of the peel. Fruits are deseeded during processing and the peels and seeds remain as a wasted by-product of the canning industry. Various studies have reported that different parts of rambutan fruit such as peel, seed and root contain bioactive compounds which hold potentiality for curing inflammation, bacterial diseases, diabetes and cancer. Stakeholders may consider rambutan as an orchard crop since its increased tree biomass will help mitigate climate change and reduce the risk of severe climatic disasters like strong winds, erosion, and flooding. Trees enhance soil fertility and consequently farm productivity. The present review paper has been undertaken for providing an overview of the chemical constituents, potential industrial utilization and valuable nutraceutical properties of rambutan along with its role in livelihood development and climate resilience.