Many people may not know that passion fruit is not only a delicious fruit, but also a fruit with medicinal and health-care functions, such as promoting blood circulation and strengthening the body, nourishing yin and kidneys, producing body fluids and quenching thirst, etc. So, what are the benefits of passion fruit?

Anti-anxiety and sedation

In the United States and some European countries, passion fruit is widely used as a source of anti-anxiety or sedative drugs. Experiments have shown that the anxiolytic effect of passion fruit water extract is the same as the tranquillizing effect, and various doses have no effect on the memory process of rats. In contrast, diazepam interferes with memory processes.

This shows that passion fruit can be used as a source of anti-anxiety drugs without toxic side effects. Its application prospects are very broad, and it is believed that it can be further developed in the medical field.

Anti-inflammatory function

Passion fruit is rich in flavonoids and has good anti-inflammatory effects.

Anti-addiction function

As early as in the traditional medical and health care system of India, it was used as an anti-dependence substance like morphine. Some studies have also reported experiments on the dependence of passion fruit on marijuana, diazepam, and alcohol, all showing that passion fruit has anti-addiction effects.

Passion fruit has antagonistic effects on a variety of addictive substances and has broad application prospects in the treatment of drug addiction. It also provides new ideas for the development of safe and effective detoxification drugs.

Antioxidant function

The polyphenols contained in passion fruit have antioxidant properties. It can effectively remove excess free radicals in the body and prevent damage to biological macromolecules induced by free radicals. It plays a protective role and plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Other functions

In addition, passion fruit also has certain therapeutic effects on high blood pressure and cough. Passion fruit’s rich polysaccharide components enable the development of functional foods and hypoglycemic drugs.

The shelf life of fresh passion fruit is short, and wrinkles and spoilage can easily affect the commercial properties and appearance. Most of the current development of passion fruit products involves simple processing of juice. Passion fruit peels and seeds are often treated as waste, but they actually have value.

Juice development

Passion fruit has a large fruit and its juice is egg yellow. Due to its rich aroma and unique taste, it is known as the "King of Beverages". Research shows that passion fruit is rich in nutrients, with a juice yield of 43.33% and soluble solids of 16.5%. It is chemically stable to heat and meets the requirements for juice processing in all aspects. It is a high-quality raw material for juice processing. In addition to being eaten directly, passion fruit can also be made into fruit tea, compound juice and fermented juice.

Fruit tea

Using passion fruit and tea as the main raw materials, a passion fruit tea health drink is developed, which has the effects and fragrance of both tea and passion fruit. The quality of the tea juice obtained when black tea is extracted for 20 minutes at pH 5, temperature 90°C, and tea-to-water ratio 1:50. Adding more than 0.2% passion fruit juice concentrate, the fruit tea tastes soft, refreshing and delicious.

Compound juice

Passion fruit juice has a refreshing and pleasing color. It can not only be processed into juice alone, but can also be mixed with other fruits and vegetables such as yacon, pineapple, etc. to form a compound juice to improve the juice quality. taste and aroma. The organic combination of fresh fruit and vegetable juice and milk has the characteristics of high quality protein and high vitamins.

Fermented juice

Juice processed from passion fruit that is not mature enough has insufficient aroma and is prone to produce an unpleasant astringent taste.

Using passion fruit, white sugar, and high-strength wine as the main raw materials, passion fruit wine is obtained through fermentation, and with certain auxiliary materials on the basis of the fruit wine, a passion fruit cocktail with a special taste can be made.

In addition, passion fruit can also be fermented into fruit vinegar. The resulting fruit vinegar contains the unique fragrance of passion fruit, has a soft sour taste and is rich in nutrients. It can also protect cardiovascular systems, regulate the acid-base balance in the body and improve the body's immunity. It has the nutritional and health-care effects of fruits and vinegar.

Fruit juice is fermented into fruit wine or fruit vinegar, and certain undesirable components in the raw materials are converted into flavoring substances such as alcohols and esters, which not only effectively solves the storage problem of fruits, but also enhances the taste and taste of the product. flavor, while also improving the nutritional value of the product.

Peel development

Jam and preserved fruit

Usually passion fruit is "defaulted" as a juice drink, but the peel accounts for 35% to 40% of the whole fruit. It is often discarded or processed into feed, causing a certain amount of waste.

Boil the fresh passion fruit peel in boiling water, rinse it with cold water, dig out the endocarp, add sucrose, an appropriate amount of citric acid and the original passion fruit juice to grind the paste to make passion fruit jam. The peel contains Natural pigments and fruity scents, no need for artificial coloring and flavoring. Jam can be used to mix juices, smoothies, iced products, milk tea, spread on pastries, or make pastry fillings.

Pectin

Pectin is a hydrophilic vegetable gum with excellent taste, low sugar and low calorie properties, and is widely used in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Passion fruit contains 2.0% to 4.5% pectin and is a high-quality raw material for extracting pectin.

Seed development

Passion fruit seeds are black, accounting for 8% to 14% of the fresh weight of the fruit. They are generally discarded as waste during juice processing. In fact, passion fruit seeds have high research and development value. The seeds contain 21.7% to 25.2% of oil. Common methods for extracting passion fruit seed oil include pressing, organic solvent extraction and microwave extraction, which can be clarified. Transparent, odorless, high-quality cooking oil.

In addition, passion fruit seeds are also rich in dietary fiber, which can affect the absorption of glucose and inhibit the activity of amylase, effectively controlling the concentration of glucose in serum after meals.

“With the improvement of people’s living standards and the enhancement of health awareness, the development of efficient and natural functional foods will be the development direction of the food industry in the future.

Passion fruit itself contains many This health-care function has huge potential for product development. If this resource can be effectively and comprehensively utilized and the research and development of passion fruit can be increased, great economic benefits will be created. ”