Botanical Name :Annona reticulata Linn
Family: Annonaceae
Genus: Annona
Species: A. reticulata
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Magnoliales
Common Names :Ramphal, Bullock’s heart, Nona, Luvuni, West Indian Custard-Apple, Anta, Nena, Lavati, Aninuna, Ramachita.
Vernacular Names :
English: bullock’s-heart, custard-apple, ox-heart, wild sweetsop
French: annone réticulée, coeur de boeuf, cachiman, cachimantier, corossolier sauvage, cachiman créme
German: Netzannone, Ochsenherz, Schleimapfel
Portuguese: biribá, fruta-de-condessa, fruta-do-conde, biribarana
Spanish: anona corazón, corazón de buey, mamán, cachimán, candón, cherimoya.
Swahili: mtomoko
Indonesian: Srikaya, Buah Nona
Malay: Buah nona, Lonang, Nona kapri
Indonesian: Srikaya, Buah Nona
Malay: Buah nona, Lonang, Nona kapri
Vietnamese: Bình Bát
Telugu: seetha phalam
Bengali Name: Nona
Habitat :
Possibly a native of the Caribbean and Central America, Annona reticulata is now pantropical and can be found growing between altitudes of 0 metres (0 ft) to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in areas of Central America that have alternating seasons.
Cultivated and naturalized in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Australia, and West Africa.
Native
Nearctic:
Central Mexico: Veracruz
Neotropic:
Central America: Belize, Chiapas, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Caribbean: Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Trinidad
Northern South America: Guyana, Venezuela
Brazil: Acre, Amazonas, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Para, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
Western South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay
Description
It is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree reaching 8 metres (26 ft) to 10 metres (33 ft) tall with an open, irregular crown.
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Stems and leaves
The slender leaves are not hairy, straight and pointed at the apex (in some varieties wrinkled), 10 centimetres (3.9 in) to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long and 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) wide.
Flowers
The yellow-green flowers are generally in clusters of three or four 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) diameter, with three long outer petals and three very small inner ones.
Fruits and reproduction .(.CLICK TO SEE PICTURE)
The fruit is variable in shape: heart-shaped or spherical. The size ranges from 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 1 centimetre (0.39 in), depending on the cultivar. When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending again on the variety. Skin is thin, covering a cream-colored juicy and sweet pulp.The flesh varies from juicy and very aromatic to hard with a repulsive taste.
Chemical constituents and characteristics:-
*The bark yields an alkaloid of the aporphine type.
*The bark and seeds are high in tannic acid.
*The fresh leaves are antihelminthic internally and suppurant externally.
*The bark is astringent and tonic.
Edible Uses: Fruits are edible
Medicinal Uses:
Parts used :
Leaves and fruit.
Folkloric
Indigestion: Warm the leaves in open fire. Apply to stomach while still warm; use abdominal binder. Renew every 2 hours. Also used for babies and children.
The powdered bark used for dysentery and diarrhea.
Fruit is antihelminthic; the dried unripe fruit is astringent and used for diarrhea and as vermifuge.
The unripe fruit is dried, pulverized and used for diarrhea and dysentery.
The roots used for epilepsy.
Crushed leaves or paste of the fruit used as poultice for boils, abscesses and ulcers.
Decoction of the bark is astringent and taken as tonic.
In severe diarrheal cases, a potent decoction is made from the leaves, bark and green fruits, boiled together for five minutes in a liter of water.
Fragments of root bark are packed around the gums to relieve toothache.
Root decoction as febrifuge.The roots used for epilepsy.
Other Uses:
Fruit used in the New Year tradition of “bilog-bilog” for good luck – a bowlful collection of fruits (anonas, mansanas, ubas, pakwan, pinya, bayabas, etc) with other sundry items like cotton, salt, and coins.
Leaves used in tanning, yields a blue or black dye.
Young twigs yield a superior fiber.
Studies
• Phytochemicals: Study isolated two annonaceous acetogenins from the seeds of Anona reticulata: squamone and isoannonareticin.
• Anthelmintic: (1) Study showed the ethanol extract of Annona reticulata exhibited anthelmintic activity, taking less time to cause paralysis of the earthworms, Pherentima posthuma. Activity was attributed to a compound present in fraction of the ethanol extract. (2) Extracts from the bark of A reticulata showed potent anthelmintic activity.
• Annonacin / Cytotoxicity / Anti-Cancer: Study of annonacin isolated from the seeds of A reticulata showed it caused significant cell death in various cancer lines and suggests a potentially promising anticancer compound.
• Antioxidant Study: In a study of antioxidant potential of leaves of three diffferent species of Annona, A reticulata showed better activity in quenching DPPH and superoxide radical than A squamosa and A muricata.
Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annona_reticulata
http://vaniindia.org.whbus12.onlyfordemo.com/herbal/plantdir.asp
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Anonas.html
http://www.filipinoherbshealingwonders.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com/anonas.htm
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lot of information about a lesser known plant and fruit