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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1552355
This article is part of the Research Topic Food Derived Bioactive Metabolites: Unlocking their Potential Health Benefits and Medical Potential View all 5 articles

Marula [Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst.] products as a food and medicine

Provisionally accepted
Beata Olas Beata Olas *
  • University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The fruit of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst., commonly known as the marula, is widely appreciated for its nutritious pulp and edible nuts. The pulp has a higher vitamin C than those of other fruits, including pineapple, guava, and oranges. In addition, fresh marula fruits are often used to produce delicious sweets, wine and flavorings: it is perhaps best known as the flavor of Amarula liqueur. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate that the various parts of marula have pro-health properties, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic activities. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the marula fruit and its products, with a special emphasis on their chemical composition, biological activity and pro-health potential.

    Keywords: marula, Marula fruit, Marula juice, marula seed, antioxidant

    Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Olas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Beata Olas, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.