Durio zibethinus fruit benefit and uses

Widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits", the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odor, and formidable thorn-covered husk. There are 30 recognised Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. Durio zibethinus is the only species available in the international market:

Screening of the antioxidant and nutritional properties, phenolic contents and proteins of five durian cultivars.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2008 Aug; Toledo F, Arancibia-Avila P, Park YS, Jung ST, Kang SG, Heo BG, Drzewiecki J, Zachwieja Z, Zagrodzki P, Pasko P, Gorinstein S.Department of Basic Sciences, Universidad del Bio-Bio, Chillan, Chile.
The antioxidant activities of different durian cultivars at the same stage of ripening (Mon Thong, Chani, Kan Yao, Pung Manee and Kradum) were compared in order to choose the best as a supplement in the human diet. Total polyphenols (mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g fresh weight (FW)) and flavonoids (mg catechin equivalent (CE)/100 g FW) in Mon Thong (361 and 93) were significantly higher than in Kradum (271 and 69) and Kan Yao (283 and 72). The free polyphenols and flavonoids showed lower results than the hydrolyzed ones. Anthocyanins (microg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalent/100 g FW) and flavanols (microg CE/100 g FW) were significantly higher in Mon Thong (427 and 171) than in Kradum (320 and 128) and Kan Yao (335 and 134). Ultraviolet spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection analyses showed that caffeic acid and quercetin were the dominant bioactive substances in Mon Thong cultivar. The antioxidant activity (microM trolox equivalent/100 g FW) of Mon Thong cultivar (260 and 2,352) determined by ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) with Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays was significantly higher (P<0.05) than in Kradum (197, 806 and 1,773) and in Kan Yao (204, 845 and 1,843). The correlation coefficients between polyphenols, flavonoids, flavanols and FRAP, CUPRAC and TEAC capacities were between 0.89 and 0.98. In extracted and separated by electrophoresis durian proteins, some differences were found in the sodium dodecyl sulfate-protein bands in the region of 16 and 68 kDa for Kradum, 45 kDa for Mon Thong and three bands for Kan Yao. Antioxidants and proteins can be used for characterization of the quality of durian cultivars. In conclusion, the bioactivity of durian cultivars Mon Thong, Chani and Pung Manee was high and the total polyphenols were the main contributors to the overall antioxidant capacity. The results of our investigation in vitro are comparable with other fruits that widely used in human diets. Therefore, Durian can be used as a supplement for nutritional and healthy purposes, especially Durian Mon Thong, Chani and Pung Manee.

Durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) cultivars as nutritional supplementation to rat's diets.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Feb; Leontowicz H, Leontowicz M, Haruenkit R, Poovarodom S, Jastrzebski Z, Drzewiecki J, Ayala AL, Jesion I, Trakhtenberg S, Gorinstein S. Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw Agricultural University, Warsaw, Poland.
The properties of Mon Thong, Chani and Kan Yao durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) cultivars were compared in vitro and in vivo studies in order to find the best one as a supplement to antiatherosclerotic diet. Total polyphenols (361.4+/-35.3 mgGAE/100g FW), flavonoids (93 mgCE/100g FW) and total antioxidant capacity determined by DPPH and beta-carotene-linoleic acid assays (261 microMTE/100g FW and 77.8+/-7.8% of inhibition) were maximal in Mon Thong in comparison with Chani and Kan Yao and showed a good correlation between these three variables (R(2)=0.9859). Five groups of rats were fed diets supplemented with cholesterol and different durian cultivars. Diets supplemented with Mon Thong and to a lesser degree with Chani and Kan Yao significantly hindered the rise in the plasma lipids (TC - 8.7%, 16.1% and 10.3% and (b) LDL-C - 20%, 31% and 23% for the Chol/Kan Yao, Chol/Mon Thong and Chol/Chani, respectively) and the decrease in plasma antioxidant activity. Nitrogen retention remained significantly higher in Chol/Mon Thong than in other diet groups. Diet supplemented with Mon Thong affected the composition of plasma fibrinogen in rats and showed more intensity in protein bands around 47 kDa. No lesions were found in the examined tissue of heart and brains. Mon Thong cultivar is preferable for the supplementation of the diet as positively influenced the lipid, antioxidant, protein and metabolic status. The durian fruit till now was not investigated extensively, therefore based on the results of this study durian cultivars can be used as a relatively new source of antioxidants.

Mangosteen fruit from Thailand