Scientific name: Pyrus malus
Common names: Apple Tree
Ayurvedic names: Seva
Chinese names:
Bangladesh names: Sebu
Arabic names: التفاح (alttuffaah)
Rain Forest names:
Family: Rosaceae
Approximate number of species known: 10,000
Common parts used: Fruit (edible), root bark (medicinal), leaves (medicinal)
Annual/Perennial: Perennial
Height: 3 to 12 meters
Actions: Nutritive
Known Constituents: Enzymes, favonoids, Alpha-linolenic-acid, asparagine, D-Categin, isoqurctrin, hyperoside, ferulic-acid, farnesene, neoxathin, phosphatidyl-choline, reynoutrin, sinapic-acid, caffeic-acid, chlorogenic-acid, P-Hydroxy-benzoic-acid, P-Coumaric-acid, avicularin, lutein, quercitin, rutin, ursolic-acid, protocatechuic-acid, silver; vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, pottassium, selenium, sodium, zinc; lipids, saturated, unsaturated and monounsaturated fats, other macronutrients of proteins, and carbohydrates; phytochemicals include tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lycine, methionine, cystine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, argenine, histidine, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, and serine; trace amounts of boron and cobalt; fructose and sucrose (9-12%); fibre (insoluble and soluble); cellulose, pectin, lignin; malic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid; tannin, amygdaline
Constituents Explained:
Description:
The Apple Tree originated from Central Asia.
The edible part of the apple tree is the fruit, the Apple. It is a juicy fruit belonging to the family Rosacaea, which is widely cultivated round the world.
There are different types of apple in a range of colours and shades, but most commonly green, red and yellow.
The fruit can be consumed directly as fresh, cooked or dried. They vary in taste from sweet to sour.
An apple is considered a symbol of love in Greek mythology, and is mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey (850BC).
The Romans are credited with introducing the apple to the rest of Europe.
Traditional Use:
The pectin extracted from apples is used in the production of jams and other condiments. Edible oil can be also extracted from apple seeds.
Apples are used for medicinal purposes which spurned the famous saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” – the pectin of fresh apples proving an aid for heart diseases and cholesterol and many other nutritional health benefits.
Leaves contain the anti-bacteria phloretin, which when crushed can help to keep a wound free from infection.
Fresh apple juice is known to reduce acidity of the stomach.
Eating an Apple keeps teeth and gums clean.
Green Apples are good for teeth, strong bones, eye sight and also considered as an anti-cancer.
Red apples are good for the heart, memory and keep the body safe from urinal tract infections.
Yellow apples are considered good for the immune system.
Apples are also used to treat constipation and tea made from the bark is a very old fashioned remedy used to treat fevers, bladder complaints and as a general well-being tonic.
One side-product of the apple that is not considered wise to consume directly is Apple Cider Vinegar, though it is fine as a condiment on salads or as a marinade during cooking. Ingesting too much can cause significant health risks due to its acidity.
Clinical Studies:
Dietary components play an important role in cancer prevention. Many ingredients from apples have been proven to have antitumor potency. Research study conducted on low molecular weight apple polysaccharides (LMWAP) and evaluated the effects of it on colorectal cancer (CRC). The effects of LMWAP on human colon carcinoma cells (HT-29) were evaluated using a microarray. Then, cell-cycle distribution was measured by flow cytometric analysis.
Further analysis demonstrated that pathways of cell cycle were mainly influenced. At the concentrations from 0.001 to 0.1 mg/mL, LMWAP induced a G(0)/G(1) phase block in HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent way.
The results of Western blot suggested LMWAP induced cell-cycle arrest in a p53 independent manner. These data indicate that LMWAP could inhibit the development of CRC through affecting cell cycle, and it has potential for clinical prevention for colon cancer.
On the other hand, it is reported that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods significantly increased plasma total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in humans. Also, it is proved that the antioxidants from plant foods improve the body’s antioxidant defence by acting additively and synergistically.
As a result, rational combination of antioxidant-rich foods is recommended to population in the prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases. Both apple and grape are antioxidant-rich fruits. In this study, 2 weeks dietary intervention study was carried out in 25 healthy subjects to investigate the influences of apple and grape juices consumption on body antioxidant status.
The results indicated that 2 weeks of apple and grape juice consumption increased the plasma T-AOC and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde. Erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities were enhanced by 2 weeks of fruit juice consumption; however, no change was found in the activity of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase. These findings indicated that concomitant intake of apple and grape juice was efficient in enhancing the body’s antioxidant status.
References:
Li Y, Mei L, Niu Y, Sun Y, Huang H, Li Q, Kong X, Liu L, Li Z, Mei Q. “Low Molecular Weight Apple Polysaccharides Induced Cell Cycle Arrest In Colorectal Tumor.” 2012 April. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22429028
Yuan L, Meng L, Ma W, Xiao Z, Zhu X, Feng JF, Yu H, Xiao R. “Impact Of Apple And Grape Juice Consumption On The AntiOxidant Status In Healthy Subjects.” 2011 December. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21639820
Source material:
Herb Name: Apple
Other Names: wild Apple (Malus Sieversii )
Latin Name: Malus Domestica
Family: Rosaceae
Common Part Used: Fruit (edible), root bark (medicinal), Leaves (medicinal)
Apple is a juicy fruit. It belongs to the family Rosacea, which is widely cultivated round the world. The apple tree is originated from Central Asia. There are different types of Apple ranging in different colors. Common colors of Apple are green, red and yellow. Apple grows on tree which is about 3 to 12 meters. Edible part of the Apple tree is the Fruit.
Fruit can be used directly, cooked or dried. Apple varies in taste from sweet to sour. Edible uses can be pectin, which is also used to help other fruits for making jams etc. Edible oil can be also extracted from seeds. Apple is considered as symbol of love in Greek mythology.
Apples are used for medicinal purpose. Famous saying, “Eating an apple keeps the doctor away”. Apples are used to treat constipation. The pectin of fresh apples helps as and aid for heart diseases and cholesterol. Leaves of apple contain antibacterial substance called phloretin, crushed leaves may help to keep a wound uninfected. Fresh Apple juice reduces acidity of the stomach. It is said the apple is the easiest diet for digestion process which takes 85 minutes to digest. Eating an Apple also keeps teeth and gums clean. Green Apples are good for teeth, strong bones, eye sight and also considered as anticancer. Red apples are good for heart, memory and keep safe from urinal tract infections. Yellow apples are considered good for immune system.