Nutritional, Antinutritional, and Mineral Composition of Minor Fruits from the Western Ghats in South India

Minor fruits have received growing attention owing to their nutritional richness and medicinal properties, making them outstanding sources of powerful bioactives. The Western Ghats region harbors various underutilized and lesser-known minor fruits that are both therapeutically and nutritionally rich and can thrive under unfavorable environmental conditions. In the present study, minor fruits such as Rubus niveus, Rubus ellipticus, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Leea indica, Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, Elaeagnus conferta, Garcinia talbotii, Syzygium jambos, and Ziziphus rugosa were evaluated for proximate composition, nutritional, and antinutritional profiles. Among the tested fruits, the highest energy value was observed in E. conferta (144.06 ± 0.14 kcal/100 g) and the lowest in S. jambos (77.47 ± 0.15 kcal/100 g). The lowest antinutritional factors, mainly oxalate (0.60 ± 0.15 mg/100 g), were found in E. conferta; phytate (0.31 ± 0.12 mg/100 g) in Z. rugosa; and alkaloids (0.15 ± 0.03 mg/100 g) in G. talbotii. The mineral profile reveals the potential of these fruits as sustainable nutritional supplements. The two most abundant constituents revealed a variability of 61.40% among 20 quantitative traits. The dendrogram analysis depicts the relationship between minor fruits based on nutritional, mineral, and antinutritional profiles. These minor fruits hold promise as rich sources of essential nutrients, and their value addition, particularly in the development of low-alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, can serve as a sustainable livelihood opportunity. This approach can help empower local communities by encouraging agroprocessing, promoting biodiversity conservation, and enhancing rural income through the commercialization of traditionally overlooked fruit resources.