Commercially Available Australian Indigenous Plants as a Basis for Development of Functional Food Products

Australia has many Indigenous native plants that were used as a food source and as a medicine (Bush Tucker) for several millennia. The records about their preparation, consumption and health effects are predominately acknowledged in books. Their potential beneficial health effects were ascribed to their high phytochemical and predominately polyphenolic content. Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites and their consumption has been associated with number of beneficial health effects. Previous studies of the Australian Indigenous plants have reported very high total polyphenolic content of these fruits (Figure 1). These native plants are also becoming popular on the Australian market however, their use is mainly as a part of the “Westernised” food products (crisps, jams). Nevertheless, a relative handful of Australian native plants have already been highlighted for the basis of new food products however research has not expanded beyond a niche group of plants. The characteristics of Australian native fruits have the significant potential to be used as a bioactive functional ingredient in developing functional food products that can be potentially used for management of several chronic conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the total polyphenolic and flavonoid content of some of the commercially available dried Australian Indigenous plant foods.