HEALTH PROMOTING PROPERTIES OF EXOTIC SUPER FRUIT- DRAGON FRUIT
P. Jayasree
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Joginpally B R Pharmacy College, Moinabad
P. Tanuja
PhD Scholar, Department of Pomology
Sri Konda Laxman Telangana state Horticultural University
Abstract
Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that has become increasingly popular in recent years. It grows on the Hylocereus cactus, also known as the Honolulu queen whose flowers only open at night. Pitaya is a night flowering ornamental plant and also as a fruit crop. The flesh of the fruit is juicy and sweet with numerous small and edible black seeds. Most Hylocereus species originate principally is originated in Mexico and Central and South America. Three species of pitaya are commonly consumed, namely Hylocereus polyrhizus, H. undatus and H. megalanthus. The 3 species are distinguished based on their shape, size and color of their flesh. H. polyrhizus or red pitaya comes with red peel and flesh, H. undatus (commonly known as white pitaya) has red peel and white flesh while H. megalanthus (yellow pitaya) contains yellow peel with white flesh. It has recently gathered much interest due to its attractive appearance and taste, as well as nutritional contents. Dragon fruit may look exotic, but its flavors are similar to other fruits. Its taste has been described as a slightly sweet cross between a kiwi and a pear. It is often considered a tropical “superfood” because of its wealth of benefits .It is rich in various nutrients, vitamins and minerals and accordingly owing high medicinal values. It has ability to have result in weight loss, improve digestion, lower cholesterol, strengthen the immune system, and boost energy levels. It also helps to prevent cancer and heart disease, defend against bacteria and fungi, and helps in the overall functioning of the body. Dragon fruit does not contain cholesterol, saturated fat, or transfat, so regular consumption will help to manage your blood pressure and control your cholesterol levels. The seeds of dragon fruits are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids It is very important in having the antioxidant and antibacterial agents that are significant in the of healthcare, food processing, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries.
Key words: Dragon fruit, Glycemic control, Hylocereus undatus, Medicinal values and anticancerous.
INTRODUCTION
Dragon fruit a recently introduced super fruit in India, is considered to be a promising, remunerative fruit crop. This fruit crop which is originated in Mexico and Central and South America.It is a long day plant with beautiful night blooming flower that is nicknamed as “Noble Woman” or “Queen of the Night”. The fruit is also known as Strawberry Pear, Dragon fruit, Pithaya, Night blooming Cereus, Belle of the night, Conderella plant and Jesus in the Cradle. Fruit is named as pitaya because of the bracts or scales on the fruit skin and hence the name of pitaya meaning ‘‘the scaly fruit’ .The biggest advantage of this crop is that once planted, it will grow for about 20 years, and 1 hectare could accommodate about 800 dragon fruit plant. It is being grown commercially in Israel, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nicaragua, Australia and the United states. It produces fruit in the second year after planting and attain in full production within five years.
ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY OF DRAGON FRUIT
Most Hylocereus species originate principally is originated in Mexico and Central and South America. Today Hylocereus sp. are distributed all over the world but H. undatus is the most cosmopolitan species in India followed by H. costaricensis. Because of the hardy nature of this fruit crop it can survive adverse climatic conditions of arid and semi-arid region of India. Hylocereus species are semi-epiphytes and consequently normally prefer to grow in the half-shade, however, H. undatus, H. costaricensis and H. purpusii, are some species can be grown in full sun. However, very hot sun and insufficient water may lead to burning of the stems and flower bud drop.. Excess water systematically results in the abscission of flowers and young fruits. Hylocereus species can adapt to different types of well-drained soil. In Vietnam, H. undatus has undergone extensive development with nearly 2000 ha under cultivation (Daubresse Balayer, 1999)
BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION
NUTRITION OF DRAGON FRUIT
Nutraceutical values in g or mg per 100 g edible portion of white-flesh dragon fruit are as follows: moisture (85.3 %), protein (1.1), fat (0.57), crude fiber (1.34), energy (Kcal) (67.7), ash (0.56), carbohydrates (11.2), glucose (5.7), fructose (3.2), sorbitol (0.33); vitamin C (3.0), vitamin A (0.01), niacin (2.8), Ca (10.2), Fe (3.37), Mg (38.9), P (27.75), K (272.0), Na (8.9) and Zn (0.35) and for red-flesh fruit, moisture (82.5-83.0), protein (0.159-0.229), fat (0.21-0.61), crude fiber (0.7-0.9) and ascorbic acid (8-9) (Jaafar et al., 2009).
USES OF DRAGON FRUIT
IMPORTANT HEALTH PROMOTING MEDICINAL USES OF DRAGON FRUIT
Anticancer Property
The anticancer properties of Hylocereus species were recently studied. Several evidences showed that polyphenols, flavonoids and betanins that present in the Hylocereus species are responsible for the anticancer effects (Santhakumar et al., 2014). The peel of H. polyrhizus and H. undatus prepared via supercritical carbon dioxide extraction demonstrated good cytotoxic effects against human prostate cancer, human breast cancer and human gastric cancer and research findings concluded that the bioactive compounds that contributed to the anticancer effects were β-amyrin, β-sitosterol and stigmast-4-en-3-one, in which β-sitosterol exhibited the greatest effects (Luo et al., 2014).
Hypocholestrolemic property
Polyphenol contents in H. polyrhizus flesh were proven to be able to reduce cholesterol level in the body (Khalili et al .,2009) Polyphenols were found to be able to aid in the prevention of lipid peroxidation and LDL oxidation, hence reducing the risk of cardiac-related diseases .Polyphenols also possessed anti-thrombotic effects which further enhanced its cardio-protective properties. The research findings corroborated the idea that the efficiency of cardioprotective effect of H. polyrhizus is associated with its antioxidant properties (Santhakumar et al., 2014).
Antioxidant property
Peel and flesh of Hylocereus species were proposed to have different antioxidant capacities .This might be due to the presence of different bioactive compounds in the peel and flesh and polyphenolic compounds were found in both the peel and flesh [27] but flavonoids were present mostly in the peel (Nurliyana et al., 2010) .High total phenolic content in the fruit is usually correlated with high radical scavenging activity. Betacyanins and flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin that possessed radical scavenging property are also found in the flesh of H. undatus the antioxidant compounds in Hylocereus species were good in radical scavenging activity but not the metal chelating ability . H. polyrhizus with red flesh contained more phenolic compounds and betacyanin contributed to the higher antioxidant activity. (Ahmad et al., 2011).
Antimicrobial Property
The antibacterial activity of ethanol, chloroform and hexane extracts from H. polyrhizus and H. undatus peel was studied in different research findings. From the disc diffusion assay results, both of the Hylocereus species exhibited inhibition zone of about 7 to 9 mm against Grampositive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillis cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcu faecalis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonela typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica and Klebsiella pnuemoniae) bacteria (Nurmahani et al., 2012). Chloroform extract of H. undatus that was able to inhibit the growth of the bacteria showing a great potential as an antimicrobial agent.
CONCLUSION
After exploring the available research evidences related to high nutritive and medicinal values of dragon fruit, It is low in calories and it can be concluded that dragon fruit is rich in nutrients like vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, high fiber content, minerals like Ca, Fe, P, less carbohydrates and no fats, seeds rich with 50 per cent of essential fatty acids namely, linoleic acid and linolenic acid which is also good in lowering blood sugar levels as well as blood pressure, strengthen bones and teeth, promote healthy blood and tissue formation, strengthen the immune system, heal bruises and wounds faster and prevent respiratory problems.
REFERENCES