Pineapple, ANANAS COMOSUS =ANANAS SATIVUS, native to tropical America, is now widespread and cultivated in all tropical regions of the world.
It is a terrestrial BROMELIACEAE, whereas many plants of this family are epiphytes (hence the error of the draftsman of « Tarzan king of the monkeys » who put pineapples in the trees).
The leaves are large, serrated and spiny, rather dark blue-green; the inflorescence leads to a particular fruit, a coenocarp.
There is a combination of the fruits of the same inflorescence with the floral axis and the spiny bracts which become very fleshy.
The pineapple, dark green when not ripe, becomes yellow-orange or greenish-brown and very fragrant when ripe.
PINEAPPLE VITAMINS BROMELAIN DIGESTION EDEMA OEDEMA ANTI-INFLAMMATORY TRAUMA CELLULITE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
The fruit is rich in sugars: 10 to 15% mono and disaccharides.
There are also organic acids and vitamins:
- vitamin C, 40 mg per 100g (as much as oranges) ,
- and vitamin B1, 0.08 mg per 100 g.
The aroma is due to a complex mixture of aliphatic compounds.
In the ripe fruit and the stem there is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes (bromelains).
These are glycoproteins with a structure similar to papain (see carica papaya).
These molecules are activated by reducing agents, inhibited by oxidants and metals and destroyed by cooking.
Bromelain has anti-inflammatory and anti-exudative properties that are undoubtedly related to its interaction in the metabolism of protein compounds that initiate the inflammatory process.
In vitro there is also antiplatelet aggregation potency and fibrinolytic properties.
USES
Pineapple is a delicious fruit, refreshing and bringing natural sugars and vitamins.
- It is eaten raw, cooked and even dried; in jams or « chutney ».
- It mixes with other fruits in various salads but also combines with meat, vegetables or fish especially in Asian cuisine.
- Pacific populations use small pieces of pineapple and other plants in the manufacture of necklaces or fragrant wreaths.
- You can soften the meat by marinating it for 2 to 3 hours in a mixture of oil, lemon juice and fresh pineapple slices (bromelain being destroyed when cooked)
Purified and concentrated extracts of bromelain:
- are a good indication in post-traumatic edema and to reduce cellulite ; it can associate with antibiotics
(better penetration into infected spots) . - They are also recommended in digestive secretory insufficiency in combination with other enzymatic extracts (pancreatic in particular).
- More commonly, fresh pineapple is a good remedy for common indigestion (overload), so it’s a perfect dessert.
Raw pineapple can be replaced by the homeopathic tincture :
1 D, pineapple tincture: 50 drops 1 to 2 times a day.
Be careful, peel the pineapple before eating, the « eyes » a little thorny on the periphery of the fruit hurt the oral mucosa and can cause, in some people, very painful canker sores (mouth ulcerations).
Finally, the green pineapple is not consumable, it is an abortif known and used (?) in various tropical countries.
ABSTRACT
To improve digestion and against oedemas and cellulite
Pineapple, native to tropical America, is grown in all warm regions.
It is rich in assimilable sugars, vitamin C and contains enzymes that help to digest meat.
After purification these enzymes are anti-inflammatory and serve to decrease post-traumatic edema and cellulite .
Copyright 2019 : Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel
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