Health benefits of fruit: African horseradish

I don’t like avocado pear; I think it’s because it doesn’t contain sugar. I also don’t like the thinness of chia seeds when mixed with water.

During the heat wave this year, the only water that could quench my thirst was cold water from the fridge, but I noticed that every time I drank cold water, I felt I feel sick.

I found a way to solve these problems. Avocados are a great fruit that should not be avoided. What I do is mix them with a lot of water, or mix them with fruit that has a lot of sugar.

For the chia seeds, I add lime juice when I mix them with water to stop the sliminess. Adding lime juice to cold water before drinking also prevented nausea for me, which helped me stay hydrated during the heat wave.

Why am I sharing this? That’s because we all have reasons for not eating or being healthy.

Don’t be selfish anymore—living a healthy life is a necessity, not an option.

This week, in our visit to the natural pharmacy, we will discuss the African horse, known as ‘Ube.’

It is called Dacryodes edulis and it belongs to the Burseraceae family.

The fruit, which can be eaten raw, boiled in salt water or fried, is eaten widely in different parts of Africa and is used to make soups, sauces and stews.

The African pear is rich in carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and an excellent amount of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It also contains essential amino acids such as lysine, phenylalanine, leucine, and isoleucine.

It includes a large amount of fatty acids such as palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. The physicochemical analysis suggests that the seeds have important functional properties of industrial interest.

Gallic acid, an important natural product, is abundant in the seeds of Dacryodes edulis. The seeds have reported vasomodulatory properties.

Pharmacological data show that D. edulis isolates contain secondary metabolites and other phytochemical groups, including terpenoids, which have antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities.

This highlights its pharmacological potential for treating various types of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

Phytochemicals and common extracts from D. edulis may provide safe and inexpensive chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic benefits or serve as alternative therapies for several human diseases.

Dacryodes species have a long history of medicinal success and have been widely used in ethnomedicine to treat various ailments.

For example, the fruits, bark, leaves, resin and other parts of D. edulis have been used in some African countries to treat diseases such as wounds, skin diseases, diarrhea and fever.

Extracts and secondary metabolites have shown biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-sickle cell anemia.

The plant contains many chemical components such as terpenes, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins.

The resin from the bark is used to treat parasitic skin diseases, jiggers, etc.

A decoction of the bark is taken, and powdered with maleguetta pepper, for anti-diarrhoeal, anemic, hemolytic, and emmenagogue purposes.

The decoction is also used for rinsing and rinsing the mouth to treat tonsillitis. The pulped bark is used as a wound cicatrizant and, when mixed with palm oil, is applied topically to relieve general pain, stiffness and skin conditions.

The leaves are eaten raw and the nuts are chewed as an antiemetic. The juice of the leaf is applied to the ear for ear problems.

A decoction of the leaves is prepared as a steam bath to treat fever stiffness and headache.

For those who find the science too dense for words, here is a simplified summary of some research on this plant:

In South Eastern Nigeria, herbalists include the crushed fruit of Dacryodes edulis in decoctions for diabetic patients.

Scientific research has confirmed that D. edulis hexane fruit extract has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities, suggesting its effectiveness in managing diabetes.

Another study tested the efficacy and safety of plant parts of Dacryodes edulis in chicken feed. Phytochemical studies of the plant’s leaves, stems and bark powder have shown the potential of the plant as an additive in poultry feed.

Dacryodes edulis is traditionally used in the treatment of cancer, with studies reporting its antioxidant activity. Prostate cancer chemopreventive polyphenols have been found in D. edulis extracts. Another study concluded that the aqueous extract of D. edulis leaves, due to its ability to inhibit tumor growth, can be considered as an alternative method for neoadjuvant treatment of estrogen-dependent breast cancer, showing anti-cancer activities.

Another study found that extracts are substances that can protect against heart damage and can also be recommended as antioxidants against oxidative heart damage, showing cardio-protective activities.

The leaves are used to produce dye and have anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and anti-hyperglycemic potential.

The wood contains an oil which, when extracted with petroleum ether, is composed of fatty acids and their esters.

The bark is aromatic and produces a resin that is used in a variety of ways—perfume, as a glue for pottery, as a waterproofing agent for the bark, and can be burned as oil. vintage lamps or forest candles.

The resin, under steam distillation, yields a peppery essential oil rich in sabinene, β-phellandrene, limonene, and a volatile fraction of crystalline canaric acid.

Benefits:

• It strengthens the immune system
• Protects heart health
• It promotes healthy, glowing skin
• Strengthens teeth and bones
• Prevents constipation

A study titled, Oil Extraction from Butter Fruit (Dacryodes Edulis) Seeds and its Optimization by Response Surface and Artificial Neural Network, by Adepoju et al., showed that Dacryodes edulis seeds have and more oil, which can be used in industries as raw materials. .

Another study called Antibacterial Activity of Dacryodes edulis Seed Extracts on Food-Borne Pathogens by Omogbai et al., concludes that the extracts have the ability to preserve food and medicinal preparations.

African pears do not contain cholesterol. Plant-based foods do not contain cholesterol.

The study found that frying significantly increases all bioactive compounds. Therefore, African roasted pear contributes to better nutrition compared to boiled pear. So, next time you buy Ube, consider frying it.