Passion fruits November 2008
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Passion fruits are divided into purple and yellow forms. Its purple
form includes black knight, edgehill, frederick, kahuna, Paul Ecke,
purple giant, red and red rover. Examples of the yellow form are
Brazillian golden and golden giant.
Potential Health Benefits
Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa), a rich source of
dietary fibers, has been used in many tropical fruit beverages. [2,5]
Yapo BM and Koffi KL, Université d'Abobo-Adjamé, found that the
rind of yellow passion fruit contains low-methoxyl pectins. These
pectins have gelling ability and viscoelastic properties. [4]
Its leaves contain trypsin inhibitors. [1] Gonçalves Filho A and
coworkers at Universidade Federal do Maranhao, demonstrated
the beneficial use of yellow passion fruit leave extract on bladder
wound healing in a study of rats. [3]
About Passion Fruits
An egg-shaped tropical fruit that is also called a purple granadilla,
the passion fruit has a brittle, wrinkled purple-brown rind enclosing
flesh-covered seeds, something like a pomegranate (granadilla
means "little pomegranate" in Spanish). The seeds are edible so
you can eat the orange pulp straight from the shell. Passion fruit is
more commonly sieved and its highly aromatic pulp and juice are
used as a flavoring for beverages and sauces. The pulp has an
intense aromatic flavor, while the texture is jelly-like and watery.
The flavor is likened to guava.
Native to Brazil, passion fruits are grown in Hawaii, Florida, and
California. These crops, along with imports from New Zealand, keep
passion fruit on the market all year.
Nutritional Values
Passion fruit is an excellent source of vitamins A and C. One
passion fruit has only 16 calories. When eaten with the seeds, a
serving is an excellent source of fiber. One serving size, 118 g,
contains 110 calories, 1 g fat, 35 mg of sodium, 28 g of
carbohydrate, 12 g of dietary fiber, 13 g of sugar, 3 g of protein,
30% DV of vitamin A, 60% DV of vitamin C, 2% DV of calcium and
10% DV of iron. Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a
2,000-calorie diet.
Choose large, heavy, firm fruit. When ripe, it has wrinkled, dimpled,
deep purple skin. Skin is old-looking, but does not mean the fruit is
rotten. Mold does not affect quality and can be wiped off. Fruit
color is green when they are immature, changing to shades of
purple, red or yellow as they ripen. Leave at room temperature to
ripen. The skin will wrinkle, but the fruit will not soften much. Once
ripe, store in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
Passion Fruit is generally eaten fresh but may be cooked for use in
sauces and fillings. Begin by cutting the fruit in half and scooping
out the fleshy pulp with a spoon. Spoon the pulp over ice cream or
other soft fruits. The pulp makes a delicious jam or jelly and the
seeds add a unique crunchy texture. To remove seeds: Strain in a
non-aluminum sieve, or use cheesecloth, squeezing to extract the
juice.
Do not copy nor transfer the content to another website or blog. All
rights reserved 2008. This article is for reference only. Talk to your
doctor before taking any food supplements and medicine. Thanks.
GOOD HEALTH!
[1] Botelho-Júnior S, Siqueira-Júnior CL, Jardim BC, Machado OL,
Neves-Ferreira AG, Perales J, Jacinto T. Trypsin inhibitors in
passion fruit (Passiflora f. edulis flavicarpa) leaves: accumulation in
response to methyl jasmonate, mechanical wounding, and
herbivory. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Oct 22;56(20):9404-9. Epub
2008 Sep 17. [2] Yapo BM, Koffi KL. Dietary fiber components in
yellow passion fruit rind--a potential fiber source. J Agric Food
Chem. 2008 Jul 23;56(14):5880-3. Epub 2008 Jun 18. [3]
Gonçalves Filho A, Torres OJ, Campos AC, Tâmbara Filho R,
Rocha LC, Thiede A, Lunedo SM, Barbosa RE, Bernhardt JA,
Vasconcelos PR. Effect of Passiflora edulis (passion fruit) extract
on rats' bladder wound healing: morphological study. Acta Cir Bras.
2006;21 Suppl 2:1-8. [4] Yapo BM, Koffi KL. Yellow passion fruit
rind--a potential source of low-methoxyl pectin. J Agric Food Chem.
2006 Apr 5;54(7):2738-44. [5] Talcott ST, Percival SS, Pittet-Moore
J, Celoria C. Phytochemical composition and antioxidant stability of
fortified yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). J Agric Food Chem.
2003 Feb 12;51(4):935-41. SOURCE CDC.gov
