European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata Merr) is a type of palm with high economic value. It can be found in various regions in Indonesia (Nirawati et al., 2020). Superior palm products can be used as a source of food and energy, including brown sugar, granular brown sugar, fresh sap, sugar palm fruit, and alcoholic drink. Besides that, sugar palm products are widely used for craft materials, as well as building materials (Manambangtua et al., 2018).
Based on data from the Central Java Forestry Service (2010), the main production centers of sugar palm can be found in 14 provinces, which are Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, Banten, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Bengkulu, South Kalimantan, and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The total area of sugar palm plant centers in 14 provinces in Indonesia is around 70,000 Ha (Wulantika, 2019). While the area of sugar palm plantations in South Sulawesi is around 6,060 ha, and the average sugar production is 4,121 tons/year. It can be found growing in several districts, including Maros district with an area of 251 ha and Sinjai district with an area of 35 ha (BPS, 2017). The natural distribution (provenance) at the location is assumed to have high diversity and categorized as a “tree of life” for farmers.