Fruit pods contain various beneficial compounds that have biological activities\r\nand can be used as a source of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Although pods\r\nor pericarps are usually discarded when consuming the edible parts of fruits, they contain\r\nsome compounds that exhibit biological activities after extraction. Most fruit pods included\r\nin this review contain polyphenolic components that can promote antioxidant effects on\r\nhuman health. Additionally, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and chemopreventive\r\neffects are associated with these fruit pod extracts. Besides polyphenolics, other compounds\r\nsuch as xanthones, carotenoids and saponins also exhibit health effects and can be potential\r\nsources of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical components. In this review, information on\r\nfruit pods or pericarp of Garcinia mangostana, Ceratonia siliqua, Moringa oleifera,\r\nAcacia nilotica, Sapindus rarak and Prosopis cineraria is presented and discussed with\r\nregard to their biological activity of the major compounds existing in them. The fruit pods\r\nof other ethno- botanical plants have also been reviewed. It can be concluded that although\r\nfruit pods are considered as being of no practical use and are often being thrown away,\r\nthey nevertheless contain compounds that might be useful sources of nutraceutical and\r\nother pharmaceutical components.
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