In Papua, red fruit is usually consumed by eating directly or cut into pieces, then boiled or roasted. The seeds and flesh of the red fruit can also be ground, mixed with water, and filtered to produce a thick red sauce as a cooking spice. In addition, red fruit extract oil is also used as a food flavoring and natural dye.

Apart from being food, red fruit is also used by the Papuan people as traditional medicine. Red fruit is believed to increase stamina and resistance to disease.

Red fruit contains various important nutrients needed by the body, such as protein, calories, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and anthocyanin dyes.

In addition, red fruit is also believed to have various health benefits, including:

Research in the laboratory revealed that red fruit is able to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, for example in ovarian cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer.

However, clinical research to prove this benefit is still very minimal, so that the claim of red fruit as an anticancer still needs to be further proven.

Red fruit has strong antioxidant properties that can reduce inflammation. This benefit makes red fruit potential to be used as an alternative medicine for inflammatory bowel disease that can develop into colon cancer. However, there is no scientific research that specifically proves the effect of red fruit in reducing inflammation.

In one study, red fruit extract was found to increase levels of good cholesterol and decrease levels of bad cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. However, because this research has only been done on animals, the benefits of red fruit in lowering bad cholesterol in humans still need to be proven.

Red fruit is also claimed to be able to help treat HIV and tuberculosis, because it is believed to kill certain viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, this benefit has yet to be proven.

The high content of beta-carotene in red fruit also brings a number of benefits. Beta-carotene is one type of antioxidant that can protect the body from the effects of free radicals, so it can help maintain healthy skin, reduce the risk of cancer, and macular degeneration eye disease.

So far, the benefits of red fruit on health are still not supported by strong evidence. Therefore, various studies are still being carried out to uncover the true benefits of red fruit.

Red fruit you can consume as a source of nutrition. But keep in mind, if you have certain medical conditions, such as liver or kidney disease, you should first consult with your doctor before consuming red fruit, especially if you want to use it as an herbal medicine.