MEDICINAL FOODS-2 : Pineapple

    Among the plants in the family Bromeliaceae, also called the Bromeliads, pineapple seems to be the most popular food plant. Its botanical name is Ananas comosus, and it is believed to be native to South America, although it is actually grown in many warmer parts of the world. Pineapple is easily cultivated from the crown of an existing pineapple plant, just be cutting the crown off at the base, near the top of the pineapple fruit and sticking it in the soil under suitable conditions of moisture and sunlight. Pineapple is not a single fruit, but a “multiple fruit”. Crazy as that may sound, if you look at the surface of a pineapple fruit, you will see what looks like divisions. Each division is, in reality, a single fruit. The large pineapple fruit is made up of those may fruits. You could say pineapple is a bunch of fruits

        You only need to peel and enjoy a pineapple fruit to appreciate the deliciousness of it. The way you eat pineapple depends on who you are or where you live. Pineapple could be eaten as small occasional pieces with other fruits, or a lot of it could be eaten by itself. No matter how much of it you eat, you will probably end up wanting more. Its sweetness, just like those of other fruits depends on the degree of ripeness. Pineapple is very tart and acidic if you do not allow it to ripen properly before eating it. This is one thing which may, unfortunately, form the taste-opinion of people who do not live in places where pineapple is grown. In fact, there is nothing to compare with the taste of freshly-harvested ripe-on-the plant pineapple fruit. Whether you get it ripe from the plant, or you leave it at home to ripen, the riper it is the sweeter it becomes, but peeling a very ripe pineapple could be a bit messy, even with a sharp knife. How do you know when pineapple is ripe enough to be eaten? Unlike most fruits, such as oranges or most mangoes, pineapple may not necessarily be yellow when ripe. A rule of thumb when you have certain varieties is to pull at the leaves one by one. If they come off very easily, it is an indication that the fruit is ripe within.                                         

     Peeling a pineapple is one thing you may not enjoy. Remnants of the flower parts are fused together, and will need to be removed to free up the juicy part. Well, there are different types of pineapple peeler-corers, but you will probably be having just three quarters of the edible part when you use one. On the other hand, if you hand-peel it, you may have some trouble getting rid of the inedible “thorns” individually within the flesh. It is your choice to either use a corer or to hand-peel it.

     Pineapple is extra-rich in nutrients even for a fruit. It contains a high amount of vitamin C. It is also quite rich in potassium, and also contains iron, copper and magnesium. Do this qualify pineapple as a “medicinal food?” This is a matter of opinion and definitions. However, it does qualify to be called medicinal in some other respects. An enzyme, appropriately named Bromelain is extracted from pineapple stem, although it is found in all parts of the plant including the fruit. It is a protein-digesting enzyme. As a result of containing this enzyme, pineapple is useful as an aid for digestion. The same enzyme makes it useful in breaking down dead tissues in the body. Dead skin layers are “digested” by the enzyme when applied to the skin. As a result, pineapple could be used as a skin freshener. By the same token, it is used for wound debridement; that is the removal of dead, decomposing part of a wound so that only living tissue is remains. When intended for a directed medicinal use, it is not clear if the amount of bromelain enzyme in the pineapple fruit itself is concentrated enough, but it cannot hurt to take in a helper protein-digesting enzyme in your food. If higher concentrations are desired, there are extracted bromelain brands available as supplements in the market.
   Another medicinal use of pineapple, which is commonly employed in West Africa, is boiling the unripe fruit with other plant materials to treat malaria and jaundice. It is not clear what the active ingredients are in this case, especially since it is used with other plants. Pineapple, nonetheless is not only good food, but has obvious medicinal properties.