Australian native fruits: Potential uses as functional food ingredients

As an island continent, Australia experiences diversified climatic conditions, giving a unique botanical diversity with many plants native to Australia. Australian flora including native fruits have been used for many years as food and medicine. Many native fruits have unique qualities and potential uses as functional ingredients. Among the native fruits, eleven prominent native species have been commercially produced in Australia including bush tomato, Davidson's plum, desert lime, finger lime, Kakadu plum, lemon aspen, muntries, quandong, Tasmanian pepper berry, and Illawarra plum. As the global demand for high quality and functional natural products is steadily growing, native fruits have great opportunities to be used as a rich source of nutrients, flavouring and colouring agents, natural preservatives and functional ingredients. This review outlines production, highlights the nutritive and bioactive components, reviews traditional and current uses, and discusses potential applications of the eleven commercialised Australian native fruits for future utilisation and research.