Photo Speaks - Supote tree at home

Supote tree at home

More about it:

Sapote (from Nahuatl tzapotl)[1] is a term for a soft, edible fruit. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America.

Some but not all sapotes come from the family Sapotaceae:

Sapotaceae sapotes:

Sapodilla, also called naseberry (Manilkara zapota) is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, and possibly El Salvador. The Sapotaceae were named after this species.

Yellow sapote (Pouteria campechiana) is native to Mexico and Central America.

Mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) is from southern Mexico to northern South America.

Green sapote (Pouteria viridis) is native to lowland southern Mexico.

Ebenaceae sapotes:

Black sapote (Diospyros digyna), from eastern Mexico south to Colombia, is probably the original Aztec tzapotl.

Chapote (Diospyros texana) is native to the lower Rio Grande valley region in Texas and Mexico

Other sapotes

White sapote (Casimiroa edulis: Rutaceae) is native to northern and central Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.[2]

South American sapote (Quararibea cordata: Malvaceae) is native to the Amazon rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Health benefits of sapodilla

Sapodilla is high calories, 100 g provides 83 calories (almost same as that of calories in sweet potato, and banana). In addition, it is a very good source of dietary fiber (5.6 g/100g), which makes it an excellent bulk laxative. The fiber content helps relieve constipation episodes and help protect the mucous membrane of the colon from cancer-causing toxins by firmly binding to them.

The fruit is rich in antioxidant poly-phenolic compound tannin. Tannins are a complex family of naturally-occurring polyphenols that neutralize acids by precipitating proteins. Research studies found that tannins have shown to have potential anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-bacterial, and anti-parasitic effects. Hence, these compounds may found useful applications in traditonal medicines such as anti-diarrheal, hemostatic (stops bleeding) and as a remedy for hemorrhoids.

Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effect of tannins help limit conditions like erosive gastritis, reflux-esophagitis, enteritis, and irritating bowel disorders. Some other fruits that are rich in tannins include pomegranate, persimmon, grapes...etc.

Sapote contains a good amount of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C (24.5% of recommended daily intake per 100 g of fruit), and vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for vision. It is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A has been known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers. So also, consumption of foods containing in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.

Fresh ripen sapodilla is a good source of minerals like potassium, copper, iron and vitamins like folate, niacin and pantothenic acid. These compounds are essential for optimal health as they involve in various metabolic processes in the body as cofactors for the enzymes.

Source : wikipedia. Photo: Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi