Medicinal value: Explore the potential of kokum fruits, experts tell farmers

Experts have stressed the need to explore the potential of fruits from Garcinia family such as kokum (Garcinia indica) for the benefit of farmers.

Delivering the keynote address at the one-day conference on the ‘potential of fruits from Garcinia family’, organised by Halasu Snehi Koota (which is a like-minded farmers’ forum) at Muliya village in Dakshina Kannada district on Monday, Somashekar BS, Assistant Director of the Bengaluru-based FRLHT (Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions), said that fruits from Garcinia family are part of the local ecosystem in many villages in the Western Ghats region. Since the fruits from Garcinia family have anti-obesity factor, there is a good demand for this in the medicinal formulations.

Stating that the cultivation of the fruits from this family is not easy beyond the Western Ghats region, he urged the farmers to take note of this and explore its potential for their welfare. Shree Padre, a farm journalist from Kerala, said that only 30 per cent of the kokum production is being utilised along Konkan region of the country. One of the reasons for this is the simultaneous bearing of other fruits such as mango and jackfruit in the season.

However, there is a good scope for preparing value-added products from Garcinia fruits. Kokum is a good candidate for the preparation of jam. All such factors should be taken into consideration for exploring the potential of fruits from Garcinia family, he said. The conference also witnessed the trial launch of kokum candy (a kokum-based ice candy) product. Muralidhara Upadhya, who prepared the formulation of the kokum candy, and Mukund Kamath, proprietor of the Mangaluru-based Ideal Ice Cream, came out with this product.