7 interesting health facts about Black sapote fruits

Black sapote fruits are round fruits of the plant Diospyros nigra. They are usually green when unripe but slowly turn brown to black in color when they are ripe. The fruits which are soft with sweet, custardy, and chocolate-like flavor. The pulp is white when unripe but turn brown when ripe. It is because of its chocolate-like flavor that it is often called chocolate pudding fruit, black soapapple.

In the Philippines, black sapote is skinned, the seed is then removed, and the pulp is served with orange or other citrus juices. It is also used for pie or pastry fillings. They can also be used for dessert applications like mousse, ice cream or a filling for pies. In Mexico black sapote is mashed, and the pulp mixed with brandy and served with whipped cream for an adult desert. But in Central America, the fruit is rather fermented to make a liqueur that is like brandy.

Black sapote plant is a tropical fruit tree that is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. It is also known by other names such as black persimmom, and zapote prieto in Spanish. The plant can grow up to 25 meters tall. The fruits are usually available in the late summer and through the winter months. Each fruit can contain a maximum of 12 seeds.

Is black sapote eaten raw?

Due to its sweet, and chocolate pudding taste, ripe black sapote can be eaten raw, by scooping the fleshy brown pulp after removing the seed. It can also be enjoyed when cooked in a variety of dishes. It can also be eaten like butter with snacks, pastries, and deserts. However you may want to eat black sapote, the choice is yours, so long as you enjoy the pudding-like flavor and sweet taste of the fruits.

What are the nutritional benefits of black sapote?

Black sapote is low in fat but contains as much as four times the concentration of vitamin C in an average orange fruit. The fruit is also a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin E, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and fiber. These are good for your body and health as well.

Health benefits of black sapote

Aside being served in various dishes, brady and other fruit juices, black sapote is also known for its numerous medicinal benefits. The plant is indeed an underused, and underrated herbal plant that possess strong antioxidants and fiber. Aside the fruits, the leaves are also used in traditional medicines to cure different ailments.

Black sapote helps in the management of hypertension

The fruits is rich in potassium. The helps in the management of high blood pressure. An increase in potassium intake will decrease you blood pressure to normal. By lowering your blood pressure, black sapote can reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. You can have black sapote fruit daily to help you maintain a stable blood pressure. The iron present in the fruit also helps in the production of blood. It is essential for the transfer of oxygenated blood to your lungs and skeletal muscles through hemoglobin and myoglobin, respectively.

Back persimmon boost immunity

Vitamin C plays a very important role in the body, both as an antioxidant, and as a cofactor for a family of biosynthetic and gene regulatory enzymes. It contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. According studies, Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress.

Vitamin C accumulates in phagocytic cells, such as neutrophils, and can enhance chemotaxis, phagocytosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately microbial killing. It is also needed for apoptosis and clearance of the spent neutrophils from sites of infection by macrophages, thereby decreasing necrosis/NETosis and potential tissue damage.

The fact that black sapote is rich in vitamin C, and other vital nutrients that support the immune system is a more reason why you should make the fruit part of your daily menu. However, black sapote is not usually available throughout the year, as it is seasonal. You can also buy Manila tamarind and miracle seed in the market as a substitute to black persimmom.

Aids food digestion

Not only is black sapote an interesting fruit, it is also rich in fiber. Fiber plays very important roles in your body. It is needed to facilitate the digestion of foods in your stomach. It prevents constipation, and prevents gastritis, diarrhea, ulcer, and enhance the movement of your bowels.

Fiber also helps in regulating your body’s use of sugar. When you eat fiber rich foods, you feel being full for a longer time period than someone who doesn’t. Thi helps you regulate you caloric intake, and thus maintain a good body weight, and be in good shape.

Black sapote improves eyesight

For your eyes to function well, and to avoid developing any deficiency disease, you must eat enough vegetables. When you lack enough vitamins such as vitamin A and the B vitamins, you would develop night blindness and other associated diseases. For instance, Vitamin A deficiency is the main cause for blindness among children.

Vitamin B2, B3, and B6 deficiencies are associated with dry eyes and eye infections in the front of the eye, while vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with pernicious anemia and may cause retinal bleeding, destruction of nerve tissue, and lead to permanent vision loss. The good news is that most of these vitamins are present in black sapote fruits. So, you would do yourself a great favor by devouring as many fruits as possible.

May improve your brain functions

The brain is a fundamental functional part of our body, and consumes as much as 20% of the energy supplies to the body. In order for the brain to function well, it requires steady supply of energy, which is where thiamin plays an important role, as a cofactor to metabolic enzymes. The B vitamins are also involved in the synthesis of hormones and neurotransmitters, which are being carried out through the nervous system to various parts of the body. They are also involved in the synthesis of cholesterol and other cellular components of the brain.

These make black sapote an important fruit for your health. It is also economical. To buy those vitamins and minerals individually would cost a fortune, but you can gain them in a cheap manner by just eating black sapote fruits on a daily basis.

Black sapote improves your bone health

The minerals present in the fruit aid bone functions and health. For instance, calcium is an essential mineral that is involved in the production of strong bones. Both calcium (Ca) and inorganic (i) phosphate (P) are the two main constituents of hydroxyapatite, the bone mineral that strengthens the mechanical resistance of the organic matrix.

Inorganic phosphate plays a role in the maturation of osteocytes, the most abundant cells in bone. Osteocytes are implicated in bone mineralization and systemic Pi homeostasis. They produce fibroblast growth factor-23, a hormonal regulator of renal Pi reabsorption and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D production. Iron, however, plays important roles in collagen synthesis and in vitamin D synthesis. Studies also has shown that chronic iron deficiency induces induces bone resorption and increases the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Functions as an anti-aging supplement

Like Spermidine supplement, regular consumption of black persimmom will greatly improve your skin texture, tone and hair growth, thereby giving you that youthful body even at older age. This is because of the numerous phenolic compounds, coupled with the vitamins present in the fruits. These compounds are strong antioxidants, which prevent the aging and early death of your skin and general body cells due the harmful effects of free radicals on the cells and DNA.

Who should not eat black sapote?

Although there is no scientific evidence that black sapote is harmful to the body, for some people with certain health conditions, it is appropriate to point out some conditions that require an avoidance of the fruit. A patient who suffers kidney related disease should not eat black sapote much. He may be permitted to eat a fruit per day, but such a patient would require the advise of a doctor before proceeding to eat black sapote. The reason is that excess potassium, which is in high content in the fruit can cause hyperkalemia. It may also aggravate your health conditions.

Black sapote recipes

Black sapote is used in the making of different juices, pastries, brandy, as desserts, and in some dishes. We cannot explain all the recipes of black sapote, but we may just give two best recipes.

Best black sapote mousse recipes

References

Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9111211

Alanazi, S. A., El-Hiti, G. A., Al-Baloud, A. A., Alfarhan, M. I., Al-Shahrani, A., Albakri, A. A., Alqahtani, S., & Masmali, A. M. (2019). Effects of short-term oral vitamin A supplementation on the ocular tear film in patients with dry eye. Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.), 13, 599–604.

Kennedy D. O. (2016). B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy–A Review. Nutrients, 8(2), 68.

Bonjour JP. Calcium and phosphate: a duet of ions playing for bone health. J Am Coll Nutr. 2011 Oct;30(5 Suppl 1):438S-48S. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2011.10719988. PMID: 22081690.

Toxqui, L., & Vaquero, M. P. (2015). Chronic iron deficiency as an emerging risk factor for osteoporosis: a hypothesis. Nutrients, 7(4), 2324–2344.