Salak

Salacca zalacca

Other names : Salacca zalacca, Calamus zalacca, Salacca edulis, Salacca rumphii, Salacca blumeana, Calamus salakka, Salacca edulis var. amboinensis, Salacca zalacca var. amboinensis, Snake fruit
Being native to South Sumatra and Southwest Java, it is widely distributed around Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar in abundance. The fruit has also been introduced to countries of other regions including New Guinea, Philippines, Queensland and northern Territory of Australia, Ponape Island (Caroline Archipelago), China, Surinam, Spain, and Fiji.

Special Precautions of Salak

Since this fruit is able to suppress diarrhea at the same time it can cause constipation if consumed too much. Other than that, people believe consuming the fruit without peeling of the thin layer on the flesh will reduce the risk of constipation

Health Benefits and Uses of Salak

The abundant natural sugar and fibre along with minerals and vitamin makes it a nutritious fruit. Phytochemical investigation on this fruit has revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenolics, glycosides as well as some volatile and aromatic compounds, including gallic acid, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, proanthocyanidins, lycopene and β-carotene. Pharmacological studies on the fruit flesh and peel have shown some tremendous antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antidiabetic potential. Some mixtures for medicine in Indonesia consist of salacca fruit, seeds, and bark (Joshua and Sinuraya, 2019).

• Antioxidant : Zalacca fruits are a good source of vitamins, fibre, minerals, and carbohydrates. Moreover, S. zalacca possesses antioxidant, anticancer, and antidiabetic effects, attributable to their high levels of vitamin C, Phenolics acids, and flavonoids. Apart from the pulp, the peel of salak fruit has been reported to possess various polyphenols that are responsible for its antioxidant activity.
• Diabetes : Salacca fruit peel extract, which contains alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and triterpenoids, phenolic hydroquinone, tannins, and cinnamic acid, indicated antidiabetic activity (Sahputra, 2008). Ferulic acid and proline found in the salacca fruit peel could stimulate the formation of collagen and elastin, while cinnamic acid derivates increase cell regeneration, and arginine stimulates cell division as well as increases protein biosynthesis. Moreover, pterostilbene could lower blood sugar level (Rohaeti et al., 2017). Vinegar prepared from fruits of different variants of Salacca further showed significant results with improved lipid profile and controlled glucose level along with potential capability of the Swaru Salacca vinegar to regenerate damaged pancreatic cells in the STZ-induced rats. Vinegar produced using the snake fruit showed effective action in regulating the blood glucose level thus reducing the glycaemic index in the treated diabetic subjects. The antioxidants and acetic acid present in the vinegar exhibited the antidiabetic potential of the snake fruit vinegar through regenerating the pancreatic beta cells and regulating the lipid profile
• Gout : Antihyperuricemic potential
• Cholesterol-lowering activity : In vivo assay of salacca fruit and/or peel extract indicated a cholesterol-lowering activity (Dhaneswari et al., 2015; Leontowicz et al., 2006; Nuranti et al., 2014). Flavonoids are compounds that play an important role in reducing cholesterol levels in the blood by decreasing HMG-CoA enzyme activity and increasing cholesterol activity 7-α hydroxylase (Honda et al., 2013).
• Cancer : the salak fruit has been found to exhibit an anticancer effect against human lung cancer (A549), human hepatoma (HepG2), human colon cancer (HT-29), and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines. The antiproliferative effect of salak pulp, peel, and seed extracts were significant on all cell lines. The two compounds isolated from the Salacca fruit (S. sedulis) were pyrolle-2,4-dicarboxylic acid-methyl ester and 3-hydroxystigmastan- 5(6)-en (β-sitosterol).
• Immunostimulant : Salacca peel extract showed high stimulation of the immune system. It enhanced the phagocytotic activity of murine macrophage-like J774.1 cell. Production of cytokine such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 was also stimulated (Wijanarti et al., 2016; 2017).
• Cytotoxicity : The salak fruit extract has been analysed for its cytotoxicity level against Vero cells and normal human fibroblast (NHF) cell line correlated to its antioxidant capacity. The Vero cells showed non-cytotoxic effect at 50 μg/mL concentration. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity of salak fruit extract in NHF cell line was based on the biosynthesis of collagen and elastin, fibres in NHF cells function in the elasticity and firming.
• This fruit is said to be able to suppress diarrhea and at the same time can cause constipation if consumed too much. Other than that, people believe consuming the fruit without peeling of the thin layer on the flesh will reduce the risk of constipation. The results indicate that the fruits contain significantly high amount of tannins. This proves the fruits have the potential to suppress diarrhea and cause constipation since tannins stimulate muscle contraction in our body including secretion area. In contrast, removing the thin layer from the flesh exhibit no significant differences in phytochemical content.
• Antihyperusemic activity: Two compounds isolated from salacca fruit, i.e., 3 β-hydroxy-sitosterol and 2-methylester-1-H-pyrrole-4-carboxylic acid indicated good inhibitory activity against xanthine oxidase (IC50 48.86 μg/ml) (Lasekan and Abbas, 2012). The ethanol extract of salacca fruit also significantly decreased serum uric acid levels compared to the control group (Priyatno et al., 2012).
• The salak fruit is also used in the making of fruit tea with combination of other local fruits (pineapple and longan) and hed krang (Schizophyllum commune) as the main ingredient.
• Salacca seed might be potential to be proposed as a local competitive coffee product due to its antioxidant activity (IC50 = 9.37 mg/ml). It has low caffeine (0.207%), low fat (2.95%), high carbohydrates (80.98%), water (6.24%), ash (3.49%), and protein (6.34%).

References

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329928302_Salacca_zalacca_A_short_review_of_the_palm_botany_pharmacological_uses_and_phytochemistry
• https://www.apjtm.org/article.asp?issn=1995-7645;year=2018;volume=11;issue=12;spage=645;epage=652;aulast=Saleh
• Lasekan O, Abbas KA. distinctive exotic flavor and aroma compounds of some exotic tropical fruits and berries: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2012; 52(8): 726-735.
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• Haruenkit R, Poovarodom S, Leontowicz H, Leontowicz M, Sajewicz M, Kowalska T, et al. Comparative study of health properties and nutritional value of durian, mangosteen, and snake fruit: experiments in vitro and in vivo. J Agric Food Chem 2007; 55(14): 5842-5849.
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• Saleh MSM, Siddiqui MJ, So’ad MZS, Roheem FO, Saidi-Besbes S, Khatib A. Correlation of FT-IR fingerprint and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Salak (Salacca zalacca) fruit extracts utilizing orthogonal partial least square. Molecules 2018; 23: 6.
• Azmi SMN, Jamal P, Amid A. Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity from potential Malaysian medicinal plant as remedies for gout. Int Food Res J 2012; 19(1): 159-165.
• Priyatno LHA, Sukandar EY, Ibrahim S, Adnyana Ik. Antihyperuricemic effect of ethanol extract of snake fruit (Salacca edulis Reinw) var. Bongkok on wistar male rat. J Food Sci Eng 2012; 2: 271-276.
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• https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Antimicrobial-Properties-and-Phytochemical-Analysis-Kelvin/df9a7fa630bf5caefaaf104512b10fdf71bf59bb
• Mongkontanawat, N. Product development of fruit tea mixed with ‘Hed krang’ (Schizophyllum commune). J Agric Technol 2013; 9(7): 1665-1676.