International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 53 International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition ISSN: 2455-4898; Impact Factor: RJIF 5.14 Received: 06-10-2020; Accepted: 21-10-2020; Published: 10-11-2020 www.foodsciencejournal.com Volume 5; Issue 6; 2020; Page No. 53-57 Nutritional composition of canistel (Pouteria Campechiana (Kunth) Baehni) Gomathy Sethuraman 1 , Nur Marahaini Mohd Nizar 2 , Fatin Nadia Muhamad 3 , Tengku Adhwa Syaherah Tengku Mohd Suhairi 4 , Ebrahim Jahanshiri 5 , Peter J Gregory 6 , Sayed Azam-Ali 7 1-5 Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC), Jalan Broga, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia 6-7 Crops for the Future UK, 76-80 Baddow Road, Chelmsford, Essex, England CM2 7PJ 6 School of Agriculture, Policy & Development, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract The diverse underutilised crops of Malaysia are a largely unexplored potential source of food and nutritional security. This study investigated Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni, which is considered as a rare underutilised crop found locally. The yellow pulp fruit is commonly known as canistel or “kuning telur” by the local population. The fruits were obtained from Taman Pertanian University, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The pulp of the fruits was oven dried at 105C until constant weight prior to the analysis for its macronutrients, sugar and vitamin C profile. The analysis found 52.96%, 40.19%, 1.16%, 4.97%, 2.12% and 0.71% of moisture, carbohydrate, protein, fat, fibre and ash content respectively. The energy reported in 100g of the fruit was 210kcal. The naturally sweet-tasting fruit contained 2.7%, 3.3% and 15.6% of fructose, glucose and sucrose respectively and had a vitamin C concentration of 6mg/100g. These superior attributes of the fruit compared with some commercially available dried fruits indicate that there is potential for it to be further explored for use in snack, bakery, confectionery and dairy industries. Keywords: Pouteria campechiana, Canistel, kuning telur, nutritional composition, sugar profile, vitamin c 1. Introduction In general, fruits and vegetables have abundant macro and micronutrients that are essential for a well-balanced diet and are the main drivers in achieving nutritional security (Adiyaman et al. 2016; Jena et al. 2018) [1, 17] . Many underutilised crops can also provide good sources of protein, carbohydrate, micronutrients, and vitamins to attain food security (Ashraf et al. 2018) [3] . Malaysia is known to be a rich source of biodiversity with a diverse range of underutilised crops that are rarely eaten, unknown or unfamiliar beyond their local communities (Ikram et al. 2009) [15] . Underutilised crops may be classified as not widely known outside of a specific area or region and there is a perception that they are grown mostly in rural areas. In some places consumption of these crops is not socially acceptable by some sectors of the community because they are associated with food for the poor (Jena et al 2018) [17] . As a result, underutilised crops have local or regional importance but generally lack national recognition and appreciation (Jena et al. 2018) [17] . However, many have multiple uses for their food, fibre, fodder, oil and medicinal properties (Adiyaman et al. 2016) [1] with potential to support food security, nutrition, health, income generation and environmental services (Jena et al. 2018) [17] . The earliest literature suggesting the presence of Pouteria campechiana in Malaysia dates from 1978 by Martin (Martin 1973) [21] . Despite its potential to address nutritional needs, this multipurpose fruit tree remains an underutilised crop (Ikram 2009; Kong et al. 2013) [15, 18] . Native to Central America and Mexico, it can now be found in many countries such as Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia (Adiyaman et al. 2016; Atapattu & Mendis 2013; Awang-Kanak & Bakar 2018; Chan-Zapata et al. 2017; de Lanerolle et al. 2008; Hernandez et al. 2008; Silva et al. 2009) [1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 30] . It is a tropical evergreen fruit tree belonging to the Sapotaceae family yielding ovoid-shaped yellow fruits. It has been reported that it can be cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates and is well adapted to a wide range of soil conditions with moderate precipitation (Lim 2013) [20] . The ripe yellow fruit pulp resembles a hard-boiled egg yolk giving its vernacular name “egg fruit". Known as “Buah Kuning Telur” in the Malay language, it is more commonly known as canistel in many parts of the world (Awang- Kanak & Bakar 2018; Ikram et al. 2009; Kong et al. 2013; Lim 2013; Morton 1987) [5, 15, 18, 20, 26] . The ripe fruit can be eaten fresh or developed into other food products such as custards, ice creams, milkshakes, jam, and marmalade (Aseervatham et al. 2013; Morton 1987) [2, 26] . The pulp can be also made into pancakes, cupcakes and pies. The ripe fruits are also dried and ground to be used as a rich food additive (Lim 2013) [20] Fig 1: Ripened Canistel