macapuno

The name macapuno (also spelled makapuno) is derived from Tagalog {{lang|tl|makapuno}}, the local name of the phenotype in the Philippines, meaning "characterized by being full", a reference to the way the endosperm in macapuno coconuts fill the interior hollow of coconut seeds.{{Citation |last=Padilla |first=Leila Denisse E. |title=Makapuno, the Good Mutant |date=2013 |url=https://bar.gov.ph/index.php/test-archive/228-september-2013-issue/5094-makapuno-the-good-mutant |work=BAR Chronicle |volume=14 |issue=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421205024/https://bar.gov.ph/index.php/test-archive/228-september-2013-issue/5094-makapuno-the-good-mutant |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=2019-04-21}}

In Indonesia, the name kelapa puan means female coconut in the Indonesian language, referring to the relatively softer texture of the fruit flesh compared to regular coconut. Kelapa kopyor means scrambled coconut in the Javanese language, referring to when eggs are shaken, mixing the albumen (white) and yolk (yellow). The coconut is named so because of the white yellowish colour and "cluttered" texture. Kelapa lilin means "wax coconut" in the Indonesian language. These three coconut mutations have different properties but are frequently confused.{{Cite journal |last1=Wicaksono |first1=Adhityo |last2=Raihandhany |first2=Reza |last3=Teixeira da Silva |first3=Jaime A |date=2021 |title= Kopyor versus macapuno coconuts: are these two edible mutants of Southeast Asia the same? |journal=Planta |volume=254:86 |doi= 10.1007/s00425-021-03740-y}}

It is also known as {{lang|km|dong kathi}} in Cambodia, thairu tengai in India, niu garuk in Papua New Guinea, pia in Polynesia, dikiri pol in Sri Lanka, {{Transliteration|th|maprao kathi}} ({{langx|th|มะพร้าว กะทิ}}) in Thailand, and {{lang|vi|dừa sáp}} ('wax coconut') in Vietnam.{{Cite journal |last=Chomchalow |first=Narong |date=2013 |title=Curd Coconut: Its Mystery and Potentialities |url=http://www.assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/aujournaltechnology/article/view/1350 |journal=AU Journal of Technology |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=153–158}}

It is impossible to distinguish macapuno seeds from normal seeds from the external appearance of the fruits. The only way to ascertain if a seed has the macapuno phenotype is to open it.

Normal coconut flesh mostly consists of galactomannan as a source of energy. In the development process, this substrate is degraded into two sub-components, galactose and mannose. In macapuno, the enzyme for degrading this substrate, α-D-galactosidase, is not active. Hence, the endosperm fails to nourish the embryo, resulting in a collapsed embryo. Besides this enzyme, a couple of other enzymes are also suspected of being involved in the development of this trait: sucrose synthase and stearoyl acyl carrier protein desaturase.

File:Kelapa Kopyor.jpg]]

Kopyor coconuts have a higher sucrose proportion (92% of total sugar) and contain more total amino acids compared with young mature coconuts. The lipid content in the flesh is also lower compared to young mature coconut flesh. In addition to the higher content of citric and malic acids, all these properties may contribute to the taste of kopyor flesh.{{Cite journal |last1=Santoso |first1=Umar |last2=Kubo |first2=Kazuhiro |last3=Ota |first3=Toru |last4=Tadokoro |first4=Tadahiro |last5=Maekawa |first5=Akio |date=1996 |title=Nutrient Composition of Kopyor Coconuts (Cocos nucifera L.) |journal=Food Chemistry |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=299–304 |doi=10.1016/0308-8146(95)00237-5}}

Macapuno are classified into three types (I, II, and III), depending on how much the soft endosperm fills the seeds.

The macapuno phenotype is believed to be controlled by a recessive gene (m) expressed as a homozygous condition in wild macapuno-bearing palms. This would explain why naturally-occurring macapuno palms bear both macapuno seeds and normal seeds, as pure macapuno palms would be impossible in the wild. Laboratory experiments have also shown that self-pollinated or cross-pollinated rescued macapuno embryos result in pure macapuno palms that have 100% macapuno seed yields, reinforcing the hypothesis. The presence of the dominant gene M would produce normal viable coconuts. The xenia effect may also play a factor in the expression of macapuno phenotypes.

Macapuno occurs sporadically in the wild at very low rates of 0.15% throughout the native range of Pacific coconuts. It occurs in palms which bear both the macapuno and normal seeds. Macapuno was initially reported in scientific literature in 1931 by Edwin Copeland, an American botanist working for the Department of Agriculture of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands (then an American territory). The original specimens were described from Laguna, Philippines and Tangerang, Indonesia.{{Cite book |last=Copeland |first=Edwin B. |title=The Coconut |date=1931 |publisher=Macmillan and Company}}{{Cite journal |last1=Angeles |first1=Jorge |last2=Lado |first2=Jickerson |last3=Pascual |first3=Evangeline |last4=Cueto |first4=Cristeta |last5=Laurena |first5=Antonio |last6=Laude |first6=Rita |date=2018 |title=Towards the Understanding of Important Coconut Endosperm Phenotypes: Is there an Epigenetic Control? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328287408 |journal=Agronomy |volume=8 |issue=10 |pages=225 |doi=10.3390/agronomy8100225 |doi-access=free}}

Macapuno remained rare and expensive, despite being valued as a traditional delicacy, because macapuno seeds are non-viable. While the embryos of macapuno seeds are normal, the surrounding abnormal endosperm can not support their germination, thus rendering macapuno seeds effectively sterile.{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Jennet |chapter=A brief history of coconut tissue culture |title=Lethal Yellowing: Research and Practical Aspects |publisher=Springer Netherlands |year=1995 |isbn=9789401104333 |editor-last=C. |editor-first=Oropeza |series=Developments in Plant Pathology |volume=5 |pages=195–201 |doi=10.1007/978-94-011-0433-3_16 |editor-last2=F.W. |editor-first2=Howard |editor-last3=G.R. |editor-first3=Ashburner}} Traditional propagation of macapuno involved taking the viable (normal) seeds from the same racemes as macapuno seeds and planting them.{{Cite book |last=Albay Research Center |url=http://www.pca.da.gov.ph/coconutrde/images/var2.pdf |title=Makapuno Embryo Culture Technology |publisher=Philippine Coconut Authority, Department of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517003314/http://www.pca.da.gov.ph/coconutrde/images/var2.pdf |url-status=dead }} While macapuno yields could be increased by planting macapuno-bearing palms close together or in isolation, the chances of the phenotype reoccurring in the fruits of the progeny was very low, at only 2 to 21%.{{Cite book |last=Rillo |first=Erlinda P. |chapter=Coconut embryo culture |title=Current Advances in Coconut Biotechnology |publisher=Springer Netherlands |year=1999 |isbn=9789401592833 |editor-last=Oropeza |editor-first=C. |series=Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture |volume=35 |pages=279–288 |doi=10.1007/978-94-015-9283-3_20 |editor-last2=Verdeil |editor-first2=J.L. |editor-last3=Ashburner |editor-first3=G.R. |editor-last4=Cardeña |editor-first4=R. |editor-last5=Santamaría |editor-first5=J.M.}}

Mass propagation of macapuno seedlings only became possible through the development of "embryo rescue" in vitro culture technology by the Filipina plant physiologist Emerita V. De Guzman of the University of the Philippines in the 1960s.{{Cite web |title=Scientist Profile: Emerita V. De Guzman |url=http://spheres.dost.gov.ph/sci-profile.php?i=000952 |access-date=21 April 2019 |website=SPHERES (Specialized Philippine Enterprise Reference of Experts and Scientists) |publisher=Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} By extracting ("rescuing") the embryo inside macapuno seeds and culturing them in vitro, she was able to increase macapuno yields per palm to 75 to 100%. This technology was later improved in the 1990s by the Albay Research Center of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA-ARC) headed by the Filipina biotechnologist Erlinda P. Rillo.{{Cite web |title=Scientist Profile: Erlinda P. Rillo |url=http://spheres.dost.gov.ph/sci-profile.php?i=000340 |access-date=21 April 2019 |website=SPHERES (Specialized Philippine Enterprise Reference of Experts and Scientists) |publisher=Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Four other improved protocols for coconut embryo culture technology were further developed by the PCA-ARC, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) of India, and the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) of France. These were tested by fourteen laboratories in eleven countries (China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Brazil, France, Mexico, and Tanzania) in the 1997 global Coconut Embryo Culture Project. These protocols were later combined into the improved embryo culture protocol by Areza-Ubaldo, et al. (2003) of the PCA and is now the primary method of mass-producing macapuno seedlings in coconut-producing countries.{{Cite journal |last1=Areza-Ubaldo |first1=Maria Buena B. |last2=Rillo |first2=Erlinda P. |last3=Cueto |first3=Cristeta A. |date=2003 |title=Application of the Improved Embryo Culture Protocol for Commercial Production of Makapuno Seedlings |url=http://philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph/images/pdf/pjs_pdf/vol132no1/pdf/Application_of_the_Improved_Embryo_Culture_Protocol.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807065440/https://philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph/images/pdf/pjs_pdf/vol132no1/pdf/Application_of_the_Improved_Embryo_Culture_Protocol.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |journal=Philippine Journal of Science |volume=132 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 }}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVjQ63nbx2AC&pg=PA10 |title=IPGRI in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania: Regional Report - APO 1999-2000 |date=2001 |publisher=International Plant Genetic Resources Institute |isbn=9789290434931 |pages=10–11}}

In Filipino cuisine, macapuno is widely used and is popular for its sweet coconut flavor. It can be eaten on its own or used as an ingredient in traditional desserts like halo-halo and pastillas or cooked in syrup as a minatamis (fruit preserve). It is also used widely in processed food products, including ice creams, pastries, cakes, candies, and beverages. A traditional combination in Filipino cuisine that is also a common flavoring in various desserts is macapuno and ube halaya (mashed purple yam), a pairing known as "ube macapuno".{{Cite web |last=Veneracion |first=Connie |date=2006-10-07 |title=Ube – Macapuno Dessert |url=https://casaveneracion.com/ube-macapuno-dessert/ |access-date=27 March 2019 |website=Casa Veneracion |archive-date=2019-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327101935/https://casaveneracion.com/ube-macapuno-dessert/ |url-status=dead }}

In Indonesian cuisine, macapuno coconut ({{Lang|id|kelapa puan/kopyor}}) is considered a delicacy. Es kelapa puan/kopyor is a dessert drink which is made using this coconut. The traditional version is just the Kelapa puan/kopyor itself, sugar, ice cubes, and water, rendering the taste of the unique coconut authentic. Some variation will include various syrups and various other ingredients common in desserts. Meanwhile, Kelapa Lilin is usually cooked as Kolak Kelapa Lilin. It is cooked in coconut milk, palm sugar, and pandan leaves.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In Vietnam, macapuno is grown in Tra Vinh and Ben Tre provinces and is an expensive delicacy. Its flesh is mixed with milk and crushed ice to make a smoothie and served with crushed toasted peanuts.{{Cite web |last=Do |first=Tracy |date=2018-05-31 |title=Cau Ke Makapuno |url=https://scootersaigontour.com/cau-ke-makapuno |website=Scooter Saigon Tour}}

File:Macapuno Tart.jpg|Macapuno tarts from the Philippines

File:9806Foods in Bulacan Macapuno 09.jpg|Macapuno pastillas from the Philippines

File:FvfFoodsPhil9233 05.JPG|Ube macapuno pianono from the Philippines

File:My last Halo-Halo in the Philippines.jpg|Halo-halo with macapuno strips from the Philippines

File:Macapuno Icecream (Oakland, CA, USA).jpg|Macapuno ice cream in California

File:Ube Macapuno.jpg|Ube macapuno ice cream in Hawaii

File:Es kelapa kopyor.JPG|Es kelapa kopyor from Indonesia

{{commons category|Macapuno}}

• Nata de coco, another coconut product developed in the Philippines
• Coconut sprout

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Coconuts}}

Category:Coconuts

Category:Indonesian desserts

Category:Foods containing coconut

Category:Philippine desserts

Category:Vietnamese desserts