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Botany
· Small tree, usually less
than 7 meters high. Leaves are smooth, shiny oblong to oblong-ovate,
pointed on both ends, with petioles about 5 mm long. Flowers are large,
solitary, yellow or greenish-yellow. Fruit is ovoid and large, covered
with small spine-like structures. Pulp is fleshy, soft, white and fibrous.
Distribution
Cultivated for its edible fruit.
Parts
utilized:
Leaves, flowers, fruiit.
Chemical constituents
· Alcoholic extract of leaves
yielded as essential oil.
· The extract also yielded a dark-green resin containing: myricyl
alcohol, sitosterol, fatty acids (oleci, linolic, and stearic) and anonol.
· Flesh of fruit contains saccharose 2.53%, dextrose 5.05 percent,
and levulose 0.04%.
· Bark contained an alkaloid found to be poisonous.
· Seed contains a non-poisonoous alkaloid.
· Recent studies isolated three acetogenins: annonacin, annonacin
A and annomuricin A.
Properties
Fruit is reported antiscorbutic and astrigent>
Flowers are pectoral.
Leaves are antispasmodic.
Seeds are emetic.
Infusion of leaves are sudorific.
Recent studies suggest a potential for antiviral,
antiparasitic and anti-cancer properties.
Toxicity
· Presence of alkaloids anonaine and anoniine
have been reported.The bark yields muricine and muricinine and is high
in hydrocyanic acid; small amounts are found in the leaves and roots,
and a trace in the fruit.
· Caribbean study suggested a connection between consumption
of soursop and atypical forms of Parkinson's disease due to the very
high concentration of Annonacin
Uses
Nutrition
· Juicy ripe fruit is eaten
raw. Used in making beverages and jelly tarts.
· Fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B and C.
Folkloric
· Unripe fruit used for dysentery.
· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.
· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.
· Flowers are antispasmodic.
· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.
· In some cultures, the fruits and leaves are used for tranquilizing
and sedative properties.
· Juice of ripe fruit used as diuretic and for hematuria and
urethritis.
· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.
·Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.
· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.
· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.
· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and
swollen feet.
· Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves used for
eczema and skin eruptions.
· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.
Others
· Bark has been used in tanning.
· The wood is a potential source of paper pulp.
· For a good night's sleep, leaves are put in the pillow slip
or strewn in bed.
Studies
Many studies reported on this plant.
• Cytotoxicity and antileishmanial activity of Annona muricata
pericarp: Extracts and fractionation led to the isolation of three acetogenins—annonacin,
annonacin A and annomuricin A
• Morphological Changes and Hypoglycemic Effects of Annona Muricata
Linn. (Annonaceae) Leaf Aqueous Extract on Pancreatic ?-Cells of Streptozotocin-Treated
Diabetic Rats.
• Studies have confimed anti-viral activity of Annona muricata
against the Herpes simplex virus.
• There are much publicized studies on the anti-tumor, anti-cancer
and selective toxicity of Annona muricata against several types of cancer
cells. One study showed that one of the acetoginins was seletively cytotoxic
to colon adenocarcinoma cells, with a potency 10,000 times that of adriamycin.
Availability
Fruit cultivation.
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