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 Botany
Piña is a fruit bearing tropical plant with an erect stem, 0.5
to 1.5 meters high. Leaves are numerous, linear-lanceolate, 1
to 1.5 meters long, 5 to 7 cm wide, the margins sharply spiny-toothed,
green and shiny on the upper surface, pale beneath.
Leaves subtending the inflorescences are red, at least at the base and much reduced. Heads are terminal, solitary, ovoid, 6 to 8 mm long, much enlarged in fruit; with the bracteoles reddish, numerous, triangular-ovate to oblong-ovate, acute and imbricfated. Sepals are
ovate, thick and fleshy, about 1 cm long. Petals are three, oblanceolate,
about 2 cm long, white below, violet-purple above. Mature fruit is up to 20 cm
or longer.
Distribution
- Widely cultivated
in the Philippines in two forms: Native and Smooth Cayenne.
- Native form was introduced by the Spaniards, smaller, fibrous with a better flavor. Smooth Cayenne was introduced from Hawaii.
Constituents
- Native variety has a higher carbohydrate content than the Smooth Cayenne variety.
- Flesh of the fruit contains sugar, 10-15% saccharose; 7-11% glucose; 1% fructose; 0.6% invert sugar; 2.74% mannite, 1% citric acid; traces of vanillin and enzyme, bromelin.
- Ash contains phosphoric and sulphuric acid, lime magnesia, silica, iron, and chlorides of potassium and sodium.
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Contains citric acid,
phosphoric and sulfuric acid, lime, magnesia, iron, silica, sodium
and chlorides of potassium.
- Bromelain is the name given to a family of proteolytic enzymes derived from Ananas comosus.
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Antihelminthic property of fresh
fruit juice attributed to its constituent, bromelin, a proteolytic ferment,
that is toxic to Ascaris lumbricoides and Macracanthorynchus hirudinaceous.
Properties
Anthelmintic, vermicide,
diuretic, aperient, antiscorbutic, diaphoretic, refrigerant,
digestive, styptic, emmenagogue.
Uses
Nutritional
- The native variety
has a much higher carbohydrate content than the Cayenne variety.
Both are fair sources of calcium and iron, good sources of vitamins
A and B, and excellent sources of vitamin C.
- A fruit in many commercial end products: candies, jams, juice, yogurt, ice creams, wine and vinegar.
- Oil or essence of pineapple used for confectionery flavoring.
Folkloric
Juice of leaves used as anthelmintic and vermicide. For intestinal animal parasites, a decoction of fresh young leaves,
4x daily.
Ripe fruit good for acid dyspepsia and aids digestion,.
Juice of ripe fruit increases urine flow, gently laxative, cooling and
digestive.
In India and in the Moluccas, immature pineapple juice is taken internally as vermifuge for children and abortifacient for women.
In Malacca, used as diuretic and treatment of gonorrhea.
The acid in the ripe fruit taken for acid dyspepsia, the tryptic ferment aiding digestion.
In the Gold Coast, the immature fruits are boiled and taken as remedy for venereal diseases.
Juice of ripe fruit considered antiscorbutic, diuretic, diaphoretic, aperient, refrigerant and digestive.
Juice of unripe fruit considered acid, styptic, diuretic, anthelmintic and emmenagogue.
In Mexico, juice of fruit used as anthelmintic.
Others
• Textile: In the Philippines, source of textile fiber called piña.
Studies
• Antitumor
activitry: Stem
bromelain, a cysteine proteinase from the pineapple stem, showed an
anti-tumor effect on mice, superior to that of 5-FU with an antimetastatic
action independent of the primary antitunir effect.
• Hypolipidemic: Study showed
the ethanolic extract of AC inhibited HMGCoA reductase activity by 20-49%
in vitro suggesting AC as a potential natural product for the treatment
of hyperlipidemia. Its action differed from fibrates but was similar
to statins, and as such, a possible adjuvant for fibrates.
• Phenolic Constituents: Study isolated 7 compounds from the leaves of pineapple: ananasate, 1-O-caffeoylglycerol, 1-O-coumaroylglycerol, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, beta-sitosterol and daucosterol.
• Anti-Diabetic / Anti-Dyslipidemic / Anti-Oxidative: Study of the ethanolic extract of Ananas comosus leaves showed anti-diabetic, anti-dyslipidemic and anti-oxidative activities – significantly decreasing blood glucose, increasing HDL, and lowered lipid peroxidation productions of blood, brain, liver and kidneys, and presents a potential for development of a plant medicine for diabetes and its complications.
• Diuretic: Study of the root extracts of Ananas comosus and Carica papaya in rats significantly increased urine output (P<0.01), 79 and 74% respectively, of the effect of an equivalent dose of hydrochlorothiazide. Urine osmolality and electrolyte excretion suggest the A comosus effect was intrinsic whereas C papaya could have been due to high salt content of the extract.
• Bromelain / Review: 1988 Review of bromelain lists its pharmacologic promise and properties: (1) interference with growth of malignant cells (2) inhibition of platelet aggregation (3) fibrinolytic activity (4) anti-inflammatory (5) skin debridement property - biologic functions that modulate tumor growth, blood coagualation, inflammation, burn debridement and drug absorption.
• Bromelain / Wound Healing: Bromelain is the name given to a family of proteolytic enzymes derived from Ananas comosus. In a Czech study with long bone fractures, those given 90 mg of bromelain had less post-operative swelling compared to patients given placebo.
• Insulin Sensitivity: Study of ethanol extract of Ananas comosus suggest that AC may improve insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes and presents a new potential natural product for handling insulin resistance in diabetic patients.
Availability
Commercial cultivation.
Bromelain caps in the cybermarket.
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