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Botany
Small tree. 3 to 5 meters
high. Leaves are hairy when young, oblong, 8 to 15 cm long, with a petiole
1 to 1.5 cm long. Flowers occur singly in the axils of the leaves, about
2.5 cm long, pendulous, three-angled, light green to yellow. Fruit is
large, slightly heart-shaped, 6 to 9 cm long, the outside with knobby
polygonal tubercles. When ripe, the fruit is light yellowish-green,
with a white, sweet soft, delicious and juicy flesh.
Distribution
Cultivated throughout
the Philippines; occasionally spontaneous.
Parts used and preparation
Leaves, fruit and
seeds.
Chemical constituents
and properties
The leaves yield an alkaloid,
chloroplatinate.
Anonaine, an alkaloid, is found in the bark, leaves and seeds.
Seed yields an alkaloid, neurtral resin, fixed oil.
Seed contains a yellow, non-drying oil and an irritant which kills lice.
The leaves, fruit and seeds are vermicidal and insecticidal.
The unripe fruit is astringent, used for diarrhea and dysentery and
dyspepsia.
The bark is astringent and tonic.
Roots make a drastic purgative.
Leaves are emmenagogue, febrifuge, tonic
Insecticide, antiovulatory, abortifacient.
Uses:
Folkloric
Salted bruised leaves
used to hasten suppuration.
Bark decoction is used as tonic and to stop diarrhea.
Root has purgative action.
Leaf decoction used for rheumatic baths to alleviate pain.
For fainting and hysteria,
crush fresh leaves and place over nose.
For infected insect bites, pound and extract the juice from one unripe
fruit and apply the juice directly to the affected areas, 3 times daily.
For lice infestation of the head, atis has a herbal treatment regimen:
(1) Shampoo hair with gugo bark or any commercial shampoo daily for
one week; with "suyod" combing twice daily.
(2) For lice eggs (nits), apply hot vinegar for half an hour after shampooing;
then "suyod" (fine combing) thoroughly.
(3) Bedtime, pound 1/2 cup of atis seeds and mix with 1/4 cup of oil.
Apply mixture throroughly to the scalp and hair. Wrap the hair and head
overnight. Shampoo in the morning and follow with fine tooth combing.
Do daily for 3-5 days.
(4) Paste of the crushed seeds in water, applied to the scalp. The same
used as abortifacient applied to the os uteri.
Nutrition
Eaten raw or makes a delicious
ice cream.
The fermented fruit used to make cider.
Others
The blackened aborted
atis fruit is a preferred by some healers as an ingredient in the making
of the "unton," used for bales.
Studies
•
Studty on the anti-inflammatory effects of seed oils of Annona species.
• Isolation of antibacterial and
anti-inflammatory kaurane-type diterpenese.
•
Antitumor constituents from Annona squamosa fruit pericarp: The
chloroform extract of the pericarp was found to be cytotoxic to different
cell lines tested. Study showed the potential of Anona squamosa fruit
pericard for the development of medicine for the treatment of cancers.
• Beneficial effects of Annona squamosa
extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: Study results
showed that A. squamosa extract has an antihyperglycemic effect and
alleviated liver and renal damage associated with STZ-induced diabetes
mellitus in rats.
• Mono-tetrahydrofuran Annonaceous Acetogenins
from Annona squamosa as Cytotoxic Agents and Calcium Ion Chelators:
Squadiolins A and B showerd potency against human Hep G2 and 3B hepatoma
and MCF-y breast cancer cells.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Small or large scale cultivation for fruit produce.
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