Valorizing Bignay Fruit By-Products: Nutritional, Phytochemical, and Antioxidant Analysis for Potential Food Use

Background : The increased attention to natural additives in the food is mainly attributed to the awareness of synthetic dyes health hazards which can be as dangerous as toxicity and allergic reactions. A natural food colorant from Bignay-Common (Antidesma bunius) — a colorful and exotic fruit grown in the region but almost never used — was therefore used in this study as a substitute to address the existing problem. Objectives: This study aimed to extract a natural dye from Bignay-common fruit powder and evaluate its potential as a natural food additive by characterizing its nutritional profile, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacity. Methods: To determine its proximate composition, screen for major phytochemical constituents, and measure its antioxidant activity, laboratory analyses were conducted on Bignay-common fruit powder using standard analytical procedures. Findings: The analysis indicated that the Bignay-Common fruit powder is nutritionally rich, with 5.14% ash and 5.07% protein. It has low-fat content (1.41%) and moisture (7.07%). Notably, Bignay-Common fruit powder contained a high proportion of dietary fiber at 11.88%, and an energy of 358.21 kcal/100g, with carbohydrates at 81.31%. In addition to the nutritional content, the fruit powder is characterized by high concentrations of phytochemicals with health benefits, including anthocyanins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, saponins, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids as indicated by the qualitative analysis of secondary metabolites. Although the present study did not quantify these compounds, their presence, along with the observed antioxidant capacity of 9.68% DPPH radical scavenging activity, suggests possible antioxidant properties that merit further quantitative investigation. Novelty: This study introduces Bignay-Common as a locally sourced natural additive with promising nutritional and antioxidant characteristics suitable for sustainable food coloring. Keywords: Bignay-Common, Natural food additive, Nutritional composition, Phytochemical profile, Antioxidant potential