Anything you need to know about the passionflower and the passion fruit

Passiflora caerulea L.

Botanical

•  Growing to 10 m (33 ft) or more.
• Its leaves are palmate and fragrant
• Flowers blue-white with a prominent fringe of coronal filaments in bands of blue, white, and brown.
• The ovoid orange fruit, growing to 6 cm (2 in), is edible but bland

Habitat

• It is a species of flowering plantnative to South America.
• Found in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil
• it is a vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen tendril vine

Edible Uses

Flowers and fruit.

Health benefits of passion fruit

Delicious, passion fruit is a rich source of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. 100 g fruit contains about 97 calories.

fiber

• The fruit is an excellent source of dietary fiber. 100 g fruit pulp contains 10.4 g or 27% of fiber.
• good fiber in the diet helps remove cholesterol from the body.
• Being a good bulk laxative, it also helps protect the colon mucosa by decreasing exposure time to toxic substances in the colon and wiping off the cancer-causing toxic substances from the colon.

vitamin-C

• Passion fruit is good in vitamin-C, providing about 30 mg per 100 g.
• Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant.
• Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin-C helps the human body develop resistance against flu-like infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals

vitamin-A

• The fruit carris very good levels of vitamin-A (provides about 1274 IU per 100 g), and flavonoid antioxidants such as ß-carotene and cryptoxanthin-ß.
• Current research studies suggest that these compounds have antioxidant properties, and along with vitamin-A are essential for good eyesight.
• Vitamin-A also required for maintaining healthy mucosa and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A and flavonoids may help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

Fresh granadilla

• Fresh granadilla is very rich in potassium. 100 g fruit pulp has about 348 mg of potassium. Potassium is a major component of cells and body fluids and helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure.
• Furthermore, granadilla is an excellent source of minerals. Iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus are present in adequate amounts in the fruit.

Reference:

practicalplants

Collected by

Dr. afsaneh Amin Ghafouri