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Sambong (Blumea balsamifera L.)

 

Sambong (scientific name: Blumea balsamifera) is an amazing medicinal plant. Coming from the family of Compositae, it goes by several names locally. It is known in the Visayas as bukadkad and as subsob in Ilocos. The plant is a strongly aromatic herb that grows tall and erect. Its height ranges from 1.5 to 3 meters, with stems that grow for up to 2.5 centimeters. It is an anti-urolithiasis and work as a diuretic. It is used to aid the treatment of kidney disorders. The Sambong leaves can also be used to treat colds and mild hypertension. Since it is a diuretic, this herbal medicine helps dispose of excess water and sodium (salt) in the body.

Sambong is one herbal medicine (of ten) approved by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) as an alternative medicine in treating particular disorders. This plant possesses a multitude of properties that make it worthy of the DOH approval. It functions as an astringent and as an expectorant, and has been found to be anti-diarrhea and anti-spasm. As an astringent, preparations made of sambong leaves may be used for wounds and cuts. It is also suggested to be incorporated to post-partum baths, as well as considerable immersion of particular body areas that are afflicted with pains caused by rheumatism. Its expectorant properties make it as a popular recommendation to be taken in as tea to treat colds.

Powdered Sambong leaves are available in 250 mg tablets at the DOH's Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) Telephone # (632) 727-6199.

Health Benefits of Sambong:

 

• Good as a diuretic agent• Effective in the dissolving kidney stones• Aids in treating hypertension & rheumatism• Treatment of colds & fever• Anti-diarrheic properties• Anti-gastralgic properties• Helps remove worms, boils• Relief of stomach pains• Treats dysentery, sore throat

Preparation & Use:

 

• A decoction (boil in water) of Sambong leaves as like tea and drink a glass 3 or 4 times a day.• The leaves can also be crushed or pounded and mixed with coconut oil.• For headaches, apply crushed and pounded leaves on forehead and temples.• Decoction of leaves is used as sponge bath.• Decoction of the roots, on the other hand, is to be taken in as cure for fever.

LangkaArtocarpus heterophyllus Lam .

JACK FRUIT

Other scientific names   Common names Artocarpus philippensis Lam .   Lanka (Ilk.)  Polyphema jaca Lour . Langka (Ilk., Tag., Bis.)  Artocarpus maxima Blanco Nangka (Bis. Tag., Ibn.)  Saccus elasticus OK . Nanka (Bis., Sul.) Saccus integer OK. Jack fruit (Engl.) Saccus heterophyllus OK .    Radermachia integer Thunb .  Artocarpus integer Merr .  

BotanySmooth tree reaching a height of 8 to 15 meters. Leaves are alternate, leathery, elliptic-oblong to obovate, entire or 3-lobed, 7 to 15 cm long, the apex and base pointed. The fruit is green to greenish-yellow when ripe, fleshy, hanging on short stalks, oblong with pyramidal

projections, 25-60 cm long. Seeds are numerous, 2-4 cm long. The testa is thin, coriaceous with an edible luscious pulp.

Distribution Cultvated throughout the Philippines at low and medium altitudes. Occasionally spontaneous.

Parts utilized · Leaves.

Chemical constituentsJackwood contains morin and a crystalline constituent, cyanomaclurin, probably isomeric with catechins.Good source of provitamin A carotenoids.

Medicinal properties· Root: antiasthmatic.· Ripe fruit: demulcent, nutritive, laxative.· Unripe fruit: astringent.· Pulp or flesh surrounding the seed is aromatic, cooling and tonic. · · Bark is considered sedative.

UsesNutritionHigh carbohydrate content. The young fruit is also a vegetable. The pulp (lamukot) surrounding the seeds is sweet and aromatic, rich in vitamin C, eaten fresh or cooked or preserved. The seeds are boiled or roasted. The unripe fruit can be pickled.Folkloric· Skin diseases, ulcers and wounds: Mix the burnt ashes of leaves (preferably fresh) with coconut oil, and as ointment, apply to affected areas.· Diarrhea, fever and asthma: A decoction of the root (preferably chopped into small pieces before boiling) of the tree, three to four cups daily.· Glandular swelling and snake bites: Apply the milky juice of the tree. When mixed with

vinegar, it is especially beneficial for glandular swelling and abscesses, promoting absorption and suppuration.· The ripe fruit is laxative; in large quantities, it produces diarrhea.· The roasted seeds believed to have aphrodisiac properties.· In China, roasted seeds used as aphrodisiac. Root extract used for asthma , fever and diarrhea. (source)• In Mauritius, used for diabetes.• In Ayurvedic medicine, hot water extract of mature leaves used for treatment of diabetes.Others· Fruit used to flavor and age lambanog believed to increased alcohol potency.· Tree latex is used as bird lime; and heated makes a good cement for china.

Studies • Antiinflammatory: Antiinflammatrory Flavonoids from Artocarpus heterophyllus and Artocarpus communis – Study isolated flavonoids including: 1-cycloartomunin, 2-cyclomorusin, 3- dihydrocycloartomunin, 4- dihydroisocycloartomunin, 5- cudraflavone A, 6- cyclocommunin, 7-artomunoxanthone, 8- cycloheterohyllin, 9- artonin A, 10- artonin-B, 11- artocarpanone, 12- artocarpanone A, 13, 14, 15 -heteroflavanones A, B and C. Many of the compounds exhibited varying degrees of antiinflammatory activities–inhhibitory effects on chemical mediator release from mast cells, neutrophils and macrophages.• Inhibition of Melanin Biosynthesis: (1) Inhibitory Effect of Artocarpanone from Artocarpus heterophyllus on Melanin Biosynthesis: Study showed the extract of AH to be one of the strongest inhibitor of tyrosinase activity. Study isolated Artocarpanone, which inhibited both mushroom tyrosinase activity and melanin production in B16 melanoma cells and presents as a potential as a remedy for hyperpigmentation in human skin. (2) Structure-Activity Relationship of Prenyl-Substituted Polyphenols from Artocarpus heterophyllus as Inhibitors of Melanin Biosynthesis in Cultured Melanoma Cells: Study isolated flavone-based polyphenols which were found to be active inhibitors of the in vivo melanin biosynthesis in B16 melanoma cells.• Antibacterial: Multibeneficial natural material: Dye from heartwood of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk: Material isolated could be used as a direct dye for wool and silk; with antibacterial activity against B. subtilis, B. cereus, S. aureus, E coli, K pneumonia. • Source of Provitamin A carotenoids: Analysis of carotenoids in ripe jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) kernel and study of their bioconversion in rats: Study showed jackfruit to be a good

source of provitamin A carotenoids (not as good as papaya).• Antioxidant activity: Inhibitory effect of prenylated flavonoid in Euchresta japonica and Artocarpus heterophyllus on lipid peroxidation by interaction of hemoglobin and hydrogen peroxide: Study showed prenylated flavonoid with more antioxidant than non-prenylated flavonoid.• Diabetes: (1) Screening of traditional antidiabetic medicinal plants of mauritius for possible -amylase inhibitory effects in vitro: Of several medicinal plants studied in Mauritius, only Artocarpus heterophyllus significantly inhibited a-amylase activity in vitro indicating that AH could act as a starch blocker to decrease post-prandial glucose peaks.(2) Study in male Wistar rats showed the flacvonoid fraction of the leaf of AH to have a higher hypoglycemic effect than the sulfonylurea drug tolbutamide with no significant effects on the liver, kidney and heart. • Sexual Competence Inhibition: Study sought to resolve the conflicting beliefs on the roasted seeds of AH - its aphrodisiac activity vs the claim that use of the seeds prior to coitus disrupts sexual function. Study in rats utilizing a seed suspension markedly inhibited libido, sexual arousal, sexual vigour and performance while also causing mild erectile dysfunction. The results suggest that AH seeds do not have aphrodisiac activity, at least, in rats.

AvailabilityWidcrafted.Commercial fruiting.

ChicoAchras sapota Linn. CHIKU TREE, SAPODILLA

Other scientific names  Common namesSapota achras Mill.   Chico (Tag.) Sapota zapotilla Coville Chiku tree (Engl.)Manilkara zapota Linn. Sapodilla (Engl.)

ChicoAchras sapota Linn.

CHIKU TREE, SAPODILLA

Other scientific names  Common namesSapota achras Mill.   Chico (Tag.) Sapota zapotilla Coville Chiku tree (Engl.)Manilkara zapota Linn. Sapodilla (Engl.)

One of the relatively minor fruits of the family Sapotaceae, the star apple or goldenleaf tree, Chrysophyllum cainito L. (syn. Achras caimito Ruiz & Pavon), has acquired a moderate assortment of regional names. In Spanish, it is usually caimito or estrella; in Portuguese, cainito or ajara; in French, generally, caimite or caimitier; in Haiti, pied caimite or caimitier a feuilles d'or; in the French West Indies, pomme surette, or buis; in the Virgin Islands, cainit; in Trinidad and Tobago, it is caimite or kaimit; in Barbados, star-plum; in Colombia, it may be caimo, caimo morado (purple variety) or caimito maduraverde (green variety); in Bolivia, caimitero, or murucuja; in Surinam, sterappel, apra or goudblad boom; in French Guiana, macoucou; in Belize, damsel; in El Salvador, guayabillo; in Argentina, aguay or olivoa. The Chinese in Singapore call it "chicle durian".

Description

The star apple tree is erect, 25 to 100 ft (8-30 m) tall, with a short trunk to 3 ft (1 m) thick, and a dense, broad crown, brown-hairy branchlets, and white, gummy latex. The alternate, nearly evergreen, leaves are elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 2 to 6 in (5-15 cm) long, slightly leathery, rich green and glossy on the upper surface, coated with silky, golden-brown pubescence beneath when mature, though silvery when young. Small, inconspicuous flowers, clustered in the leaf axils, are greenish-yellow, yellow, or purplish-white with tubular, 5-lobed corolla and 5 or 6 sepals. The fruit, round, oblate, ellipsoid or somewhat pear-shaped, 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) in diameter, may be red-purple, dark-purple, or pale-green. It feels in the hand like a rubber ball. The glossy, smooth, thin, leathery skin adheres tightly to the inner rind which, in purple fruits, is dark-purple and 1/4 to 1/2 in (6-12.5 mm) thick; in green fruits, white and 1/8 to 3/16 in.(3-5 mm) thick. Both have soft, white, milky, sweet pulp surrounding the 6 to 11 gelatinous, somewhat rubbery, seed cells in the center which, when cut through transversely, are seen to radiate from the central core like an asterisk or many-pointed star, giving the fruit its common English name. The fruit may have up to 10 flattened, nearly oval, pointed, hard seeds, 3/4 in (2 cm.) long, nearly 1/2 in (1.25 cm) wide, and up to 1/4 in (6 mm) thick, but usually several of the cells are not occupied and the best fruits have as few as 3 seeds. They appear black at first, with a light area on the ventral side, but they dry to a light-brown.

Origin and Distribution

It is commonly stated that the star apple is indigenous to Central America but the eminent botanists Paul Standley and Louis Williams have declared that it is not native to that area, no Nahuatl name has been found, and the tree may properly belong to the West Indies.

Plate LVIII: STAR APPLE, Chrysophyllum cainito

However, it is more or less naturalized at low and medium altitudes from southern Mexico to Panama, is especially abundant on the Pacific side of Guatemala, and frequently cultivated as far south as northern Argentina and Peru. It was recorded by Ciezo de Leon as growing in Peru during his travels between 1532 and 1550. It is common throughout most of the Caribbean Islands and in Bermuda. In Haiti, the star apple was the favorite fruit of King Christophe and he held court under the shade of a very large specimen at Milot. The United States Department of Agriculture received seeds from Jamaica in 1904 (S.P.I. #17093). The star apple is grown occasionally in southern Florida and in Hawaii where it was introduced before 1901. There are some trees in Samoa and in Malaya though they do not bear regularly. The tree is grown in southern Vietnam and in Kampuchea for its fruits but more for its ornamental value in West Tropical Africa, Zanzibar, and the warmer parts of India. It was introduced into Ceylon in 1802, reached the Philippines much later but has become very common there as a roadside tree and the fruit is appreciated.

Varieties

Apart from the two distinct color types, there is little evidence of such pronounced variation that growers would be stimulated to make vigorous efforts to select and propagate superior clones. William Whitman of Miami observed a tree yielding heavy crops of well-formed, high quality fruits in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from late January to the end of June. He brought budwood to Florida in 1953. Grafted progeny and trees grown from air-layers have borne well here even prior to reaching 10 ft (3 m) in height. This introduction, named the "Haitian Star Apple", is propagated commercially for dooryard culture. Seeds of the Port-au-Prince tree have produced seedlings that have performed poorly in Florida.

Climate

The star apple tree is a tropical or near-tropical species ranging only up to 1,400 ft (425 m) elevation in Jamaica. It does well only in the warmest locations of southern Florida and on the Florida Keys. Mature trees are seriously injured by temperatures below 28º F (-2.22º C) and recover slowly. Young trees may be killed by even short exposure to 31º F (-0.56º C).

Soil

The tree is not particular as to soil, growing well in deep, rich earth, clayey loam, sand, or limestone, but it needs perfect drainage.

Propagation

Star apple trees are most widely grown from seeds which retain viability for several months and germinate readily. The seedlings bear in 5 to 10 years. Vegetative propagation hastens production and should be more commonly practiced. Cuttings of mature wood root

well. Air-layers can be produced in 4 to 7 months and bear early. Budded or grafted trees have been known to fruit one year after being set in the ground. In India, the star apple is sometimes inarched on star apple seedlings. Grafting on the related satinleaf tree (C. oliviforme L.) has had the effect of slowing and stunting the growth.

Culture

During the first 6 months, the young trees should be watered weekly. Later irrigation may be infrequent except during the flowering season when watering will increase fruit-set. Most star apple trees in tropical America and the West Indies are never fertilized but a complete, well-balanced fertilizer will greatly improve performance in limestone and other infertile soils.

Harvesting

Star apples are generally in season from late winter or early spring to early summer. They do not fall when ripe but must be hand-picked by clipping the stem. Care must be taken to make sure that they are fully mature. Otherwise the fruits will be gummy, astringent and inedible. When fully ripe, the skin is dull, a trifle wrinkled, and the fruit is slightly soft to the touch.

Yield

In India, a mature star apple tree may bear 150 lbs (60 kg) of fruits in the short fruiting season of February and March.

Keeping Quality

Ripe fruits remain in good condition for 3 weeks at 37.4º to 42.8º F (3º-6º C) and 90% relative humidity.

Pests and Diseases

Larvae of small insects are sometimes found in the ripe fruits.

The, main disease problem in the Philippines is stem-end decay caused by species of Pestalotia and Diplodia. In Florida, some fruits may mummify before they are full-grown.

The foliage is subject to leaf spots from attack by Phomopsis sp., Phyllosticta sp., and Cephaleuros virescens, the latter known as algal leaf spot or green scurf.

Birds and squirrels attack the fruits if they are left to fully ripen on the tree.

Food Uses

Star apples must not be bitten into. The skin and rind (constituting approximately 33% of the total) are inedible. When opening a star apple, one should not allow any of the bitter latex of the skin to contact the edible flesh. The ripe fruit, preferably chilled, may be merely cut in half and the flesh spooned out, leaving the seed cells and core. A combination of the chopped flesh with that of mango, citrus, pineapple, other fruits and coconut water is frozen and served as Jamaica Fruit Salad Ice. An attractive way to serve the fruit is to cut around the middle completely through the rind and then, holding the fruit stem-end down, twisting the top gently back and forth. As this is done, the flesh will be felt to free itself from the downward half of the rind, and the latter will pull away, taking with it the greater part of the core.

In Jamaica, the flesh is often eaten with sour orange juice, a combination called "matrimony"; or it is mixed with orange juice, a little sugar, grated nutmeg and a spoonful of sherry and eaten as dessert called "strawberries and-cream". Bolivians parboil the edible portion, and also prepare it as a decoction. An emulsion of the slightly bitter seed kernels is used to make imitation milk-of almonds, also nougats and other confections.

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*

Calories 67.2

Moisture 78.4-85.7 g

Protein 0.72-2.33 g

Carbohydrates 14.65 g

Fiber 0.55-3.30 g

Ash 0.35-0.72 g

Calcium 7.4-17.3 mg

Phosphorus 15.9-22.0 mg

Iron 0.30-0.68 mg

Carotene 0.004-0.039 mg

Thiamine 0.018-0.08 mg

Riboflavin 0.013-0.04 mg

Niacin 0.935-1.340 mg

Ascorbic Acid 3.0-15.2 mg

Amino Acids:

Tryptophan 4 mg

Methionine 2 mg

Lysine 22 mg

*Analyses made in Cuba and Central America.

Toxicity

The seeds contain 1.2% of the bitter, cyanogenic glycoside, lucumin; 0.0037% pouterin; 6.6% of a fixed oil; 0.19% saponin; 2.4% dextrose and 3.75% ash. The leaves possess an alkaloid, also resin, resinic acid, and a bitter substance.

Other Uses

Wood: The tree is seldom felled for timber unless there is a particular need for it. The heartwood is pinkish or red-brown, violet, or dark-purple; fine-grained, compact, heavy, hard, strong, tough but not difficult to work; durable indoors but not outside in humid conditions. It has been utilized for heavy construction and for deluxe furniture, cabinetwork and balustrades.

Latex: The latex obtained by making incisions in the bark coagulates readily and has been utilized as an adulterant of gutta percha. It was formerly proposed as a substitute for wax on the shelves of wardrobes and closets.

Medicinal Uses: The ripe fruit, because of its mucilaginous character, is eaten to sooth inflammation in laryngitis and pneumonia. It is given as a treatment for diabetes mellitus, and as a decoction is gargled to relieve angina. In Venezuela, the slightly unripe fruits are eaten to overcome intestinal disturbances. In excess, they cause constipation. A decoction of the rind, or of the leaves, is taken as a pectoral. A decoction of the tannin-rich, astringent bark is drunk as a tonic and stimulant, and is taken to halt diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhages, and as a treatment for gonorrhea and "catarrh of the bladder". The bitter, pulverized seed is taken as a tonic, diuretic and febrifuge. Cuban residents in Miami are known to seek the leaves in order to administer the decoction as a cancer remedy. Many high-tannin plant materials are believed by Latin Americans to be carcinostatic. In Brazil, the latex of the tree is applied on abscesses and, when dried and powdered, is given as a potent vermifuge. Else where, it is taken as a diuretic, febrifuge and remedy for dysentery.

BotanySmall tree growing to a height of 6 meters or less. Leaves are pinnate, about 15 cm long. Leaflets are smooth, pairs and ovate to ovate-lanceolate. Pannicles are small, axillary and bell-shaped, 5-6 mm long. Calyx is reddish purple. Petals are purple, often margined with white. Fruit is fleshy green to greenish yellow, about 6 cm long, with 5 longitudinal, sharp and angular lobes. Seeds are arillate.

Medical properties and constituentsVermifuge, laxative, refrigerant, antiscorbutic, febrifuge, sialogogue, antiphlogistic, stimulant, emmenagogue, anodyne, emetic.Studies indicate the presence of saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins.

DistributionPlanted in cultivated and semi-cultivated areas.

Parts used Leaves, flowers, seeds, fruit..UsesNutritionalEdible fruit is a source of iron (low in calcium) and vitamins B and C, oxalate and potassium.FolkloricTea of boiled leaves used for aphthous stomatitis.Crushed shoots or leaves used externally for headaches and ringworm.Boiled flowers used to expel worms: 50 gms to a pint of boiling water; drunk in normal doses.Fruit is laxative.Decoction of fruit, 50 gms to a pint of boiling water, 4-5 glasses a day for bleeding piles.Juice of fresh fruit for affections of the eyes.Seed is used for asthma and colic: Powdered seeds, 10 gms to a cup of warm water, drunk 4 times daily.In India, the ripe fruit is used to stop hemorrhages and relieve hemorrhoidal bleeding.

The dried fruit or juice used for fevers.OthersThe acid type carambola dissolves tarnish and rust, occasionally used for cleaning and polishing metal.Fruit juice is used to remove stains.Contains potassium oxalate which is used for dyeing.

Studies• Cardiac Effects / Negative Inotropic and Chronotropic Effects: The study showed that the A. carambola extract is an agent that strongly depresses the heart rate and the myocardial contractile force. Although the active compound has not been identified, its action on the L-type Ca2+ channels is important to explain the mechanism of action of this plant on the mammalian atrial myocardium.• Fatal outcome after ingestion of star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) in uremic patients: The study warns that patients with renal failure who ingest star fruit may develop neurological symptoms and run the risk of death in severe cases. Hemodialysis, especially on a daily basis, is the ideal treatment for star fruit intoxication.• Neurotoxicity: Report of study on 32 uraemic patients who ingested star fruit. Most common presenting symptoms were persistent hiccups, vomiting, mental confusion, psychomotor agitation, insomnia, paresthesias and seizures. Ideal treatment was daily hemodialysis.

• Antioxidant: Research reports the residues from star fruit juicing process is a rich and excellent source of extractable phenolic antioxidants.• Convulsant / Neurotoxic Fraction: Study yielded a nonproteic neurotoxic fraction from the star fruit Averrhoa carambola. It was shown to inhibit GABA binding in a concentration-dependent manner. It produced behavioral changes in animals, including seizures - tonic-clonic to status epilepticus..• Anti-Ulcerogernic Effect: Water-alcohol extract of A carambola showed significant anti-ulcer activity in the acidified-ethanol-induced ulcer model in rats, with no activity in the indomethacin and acute stress ulcerogenic models. • Human Cytochrome P450 Inhibition: Fruit juice-drug interaction has been a concern since the discovery of the grapefruit juice-drug interaction. Other fruits have been found to inhibit CYP3A in vitro. Study showed star fruit juice inhibited the seven CYP isoforms tested, with the strongest inhibitory effect against CYP2A6 and the least towards CYP3A4.

Toxicity / Caution !• Report of toxicity and death in fruit consumption by patients with renal failure. Star fruit intoxication may be harmful and even life threatening in uremic patients. The neurotoxicity is classified into three levels of intoxication: (1) Mild, with hiccups, vomiting and insomnia. (2) Moderate, wirh psychomotor agitation, numbness and mental confusion, and (3) Severe intoxication, with worsening confusion, coma, seizures, hypotension and shock, in various confusing clinical presentations. Daily dialysis, is the ideal treatment and most efficient way of removing the neurotoxicity.• High Potassium Content: Because of its high potassium content, star fruit should be one of the food substances that should be excluded from the diet of patients with renal failure.

AvailabilityWild-crafted.Limited backyard cultivation.

CaimitoChrysophyllum cainito Linn .

STAR APPLE

Common namesCaimito (Tag.)Caymito (Bis.) Cainito (Engl.) Star apple (Engl.)

BotanyA tree with a spreading crown, growing to a height of 15 meters with numerous slender branches. Young tips are copper-collored and covered with hairs. Leaves are leathery, pointed at the tip, blunt or rounded at the base and covered with silky, golden-brown soft hairs. The flowers are purplish-white, small and clustered in the axils of leaves. The fruit is large and rounded, 6 to 10 cm in diameter, shiny and smooth, purplish or light-green skinned, with a translucent whitish or purplish pulp surrounding flatterned seeds about 1 to 1.5 cm long. The flesh is fibrous, sweet, mild and pleasant tasting.

Chemical constituents and characteristicsSeed contains saponin, pouterin, and a bitter principle (lucumin) and a fixed

Leaves contain an amorphous bitter principle, some alkaloids and no saponin.Pectoral, tonic, stimulant.Bark is rich in tannin.Seed is tonic, diuretic and febrifuge.

DistributionCultivated for its edible fruit.

Parts used and preparationSeeds, leaves, bark, fruit.

Folkloric • Dysentery: Decoction of the bark.• Tonic: Infusion of the bark is tonic and refreshing.• Latex is used for abscesses.• Dried latex used as antihelminthic.

• In some countries, the fruit is used for diabetes.• Bitter seed sometimes used as tonic, for diarrhea and fevers.• Fruit eaten for inflammation in laryngitis and pneumonia.• Used for diabetes.• Decoction used for angina.

Ivory Coast, decoction of leaves used for hypertension.Venezuela, unripe fruit used for intestinal problems.

• Decoction of bark used as tonic and stimulant; used for diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhages and treatment of gonorrhea.

Cubans in Miami reported to use the leaf decoction for cancer treatment.Brazil, bark latex used on abscesses; and as a potent vermifuge when dried and powdered.

StudiesAntioxidant: (1) Polyphenolic Antioxidants from the Fruits of Chrysophyllum cainito: A study on fruit extracts yielded

nine known phenolic antioxidants. (2) Study of extracts of 12 edible fruits showed nine to exhibit high antioxidant activity; C cainito yielded cyanidin-3-O-ß-glucopyranoside, an anthocyaninc antioxidant.

Vasorelaxant: A preliminary study on the relaxant effect of the crude extract and fractions of the bark of Chrysophyllum cainito L. in isolated rat thoracic aorta: Methanolic bark extract study on rats showed vasorelaxant activity on the smooth muscle.

Lectin Activity: Plant samples of 178 species and 62 families were studied for lectin activity. Potent lectins possessing more than 100,000 unites per gram were found in the fruits extracts of C arabica and Chrysophyllum

Antidiabetic Activity: Study of the aqueous decoction of C cainito leaves showed hypoglycemic activity at doses of ≥ 20 g/l. From 30 g/l, the plant would exert a toxic effect.

Hypotensive Effect: Phytochemical study attributes the hypotensive effect flavonoids with vasodilation effect and inhibition of adrenergic receptors.

AvailabilityWild-crafted.Cultivated for its edible fruit.Seasonal market produce. Tinctures of bark, leaves and fruits in the cybermarket.