Physico-chemical characteristics and people's perception on usage of chuirri (Diploknema butyraceae)

Sikkim is rich in biological diversity, in particular for underutilized edible fruits. Underutilized fruits play an important role in human health, socially and economically in rural areas. One of the most prominent underutilized fruit of Sikkim is chuirri (Diploknema butyraceae). It is a multipurpose tree with immense value as its every part is used for different purpose. A detailed demographic field survey was conducted through semi structured interviews where the selection of a locality was done on the basis of the availability and usage of fruits. Physicochemical characteristics of chuirri were also evaluated by collecting various samples from different locations of West Sikkim. The result showed that the content of TSS, sugars, ascorbic acid were almost at par in all the fruits that were taken from different locality. The oil estimated from pulp ranged between 1.15–1.51%, total chlorophyll content ranged between 0.12–0.16 mg/100g, protein content ranged between 9.16 9.55% and total carotenoids 1.41–3.00 mg/100g.