Inhibitory effect of bitter principle of palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L)fruit pulp on the growth of mice: evidence using bitter and non-bitter fruit pulp

Different cultivars of palmyrah produce mature fruits of differently flavou red palmyrah fruit pulp (PFP). A natural 'sweet' (non-bitter) variety exist s. Bitter and naturally non-bitter palmyrah fruit pulps showed little diffe rence in total sugars (471 and 543 g kg(-1) respectively), estimated by the Nelson method after invertase action, and had total crude flabelliferin co ntents of 1480 and 1650 mg kg(-1) respectively. The flabelliferin profiles on silica gel G60 TLC plates developed using butanol; ethanol; NH3 (7:2:5) differed. Bitter fruit pulp (from Jaffna) contained the bitter flabelliferi n F-II as the major component (about 900 mg per kg), while the non-bitter f ruit pulp (from Ampara) did not contain F-II but contained the anti-microbi al flabelliferin, F-B. Incorporation of non-bitter PFP at the 100 g kg(-1) level into WHO standard mice-breeding feed resulted in significantly increa sed (p = 0.00008) weight gain by ICR mice compared with bitter PFP incorpor ation at the same level in the feed. Weight gain was also significantly hig her (p = 0.021) than in the control (WHO standard mice-breeding feed). The study supports the conclusion that the bitter principle, F-II is responsibl e for reduced weight gain in mice. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.