Maracuya
	gallery   Maracuya

Family: Passifloraceae

Description:

The mature endocarp fruit is edible. It can be used as a desert, and it is possible to dilute it in water. The locals use the fruit for making liquors, sweets, ice cream and  different sauces. The epicard is rich in pectin's, the base’s main component is jelly. The seeds are rich in oil, sugar and protein, they can be added as a supplement  to any agricultural food for animals. The oil pressed out of seeds is yellow, it’s easily digested and it has high nutritious value.
The native people of the Amazonia region have used  the plant for centuries as an analgaethic, to cure cough symptoms or as a heart tonic. The plant was discovered first time by Spanish Dr. Monardes in 1569. Ever since then this plant has been registered in European pharmaceutical documents, to be used as a sedative, spasmolyticum and nerve sedative. Later on it was used for easing colic attacks, diarrhoea, menstrual discomforts, insomnia, neuralgia, epilepsy and muscular spasm.
The main components are alkaloids, flavinoids and glycosides. The plant  contains  harman and its derivates. The plant has been  scientifically studied for  roughly 100 years, the analgesic effect has been known since 1897, and its calming effect since 1904. In the 1980s it was confirmed that the plant acts as an antidepressant and helps to lower blood pressure. Studies in 2003 confirmed that the plant acts as an aphrodisiac – sexual function is increased, so is the sperm count and the number of fertilized eggs, which was tested in labs on mice. A study in 2002 confirmed that the plant helps to ease cough attacks, acting similarly to codeine.
At the present time the plant is being seeked out by herbalist and healers alike from the entire world, especially as a sedative, spasmolyticum, analgesic and for its calming effect. In  North America it is a preferred remedy for insomnia, muscle spasms, hysteria, neuralgia and PMS. In Europe the plant is being used for insomnia, nervous tension, spasm, neuralgia, alcoholism, tachycardia, headache and hyperactivity in children, while in South America the plant is being used to treat  urinary problems, spasms, alcoholism, headaches, insomnia, colic's, hysteria, neuralgia, PMS and hypertension. The juice of this plant is being used to calm hyperactive children, for easing asthma, cough, bronchitis, urinary and bladder infections and as a diuretic.
The fruit and the leaves are FDA approved as safe, without any side effects, safe to be used for children.

Contraindications:

  Not known

Side effects:

 None

Traditional enthomedicinal uses:

More information you can look on the site about ordinary preparation of the herbal remedies

Phytoterapeutic properties:

  Analgesic,  antitussic, hypotensive, sedative, calming

Phytochemical composition:

  Alkaloids, alpha-alanine, apigenine, arachidinic acid, aribine, chrysine, citric
acid, coumarin, cyclopassifloic acids A-D, cyclopassiflosides I-VI, diethyl
malonate, edulan I, edulan II, ethylenoxide, ethylcaproate, Fe, flavonoids, glutamine, gynocardin, harmane,
harmaline, harmalol, harmine, harmol, homoorientine, isoorientine,
isoschaftoside, isovitexine, kaempferol, loturine, lucenin-2, lutenin-2,
luteolin, Na, n-nonacosane, orientin, P, passicol, passiflorine, passifloric acid,
pectin, phenolase, phenolic acids, phenylalanine, proline, prunasin, quercetin, raffinose,
sambunigrin, saponarin, saponaretin, saponarine, schaftoside, scopoletin,
serotonin, sitosterol, stigmasterol.

source:

270 Plantas medicinales iberoamericas, GUPTA M.P., CYTED-SECAB,Ciencia y Tecnología, Santa Fé do Bogotá, 1995, ISBN 958-9206-50-6
Amazonian Ethnobotanical Dictionary, DUKE A.J., VASQUEZ R., C.R.C. Press, Boca Raton, USA, 1994, ISBN 0-8493-3664-3
Diccionario enciclopédico de plantas utiles del Perú, BRACK E.A., CBC – Centro de Estudios Regionales Andinos «Bartolomé de Las Casas» , Cuzco, Perú, 1999 , ISBN 9972-691-21-0
Dr. Duke´s Phytochemical ant Ethnomedicinal Databases, DUKE A., online http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/
Frutas del Perú, BRACK E. A., Universidad San Martín de Porres, Lima, Peru, 2003, ISBN 9972-54-105-3
Herbal secrets of the rainforest , TAYLOR L. , Prima Health a division of Prima publishing, CA, USA, 1998, ISBN 0-7615-1734-0
Plantas Medicinales Nativas del Peru, PALACIOS VACCARO W.J., 3era edición, Lima, Perú, 2006, ISBN 9972-50-002-1 
The Healing Forest, SCHULTES E.R., RAFFAUF R.F., DioscoridesPress, Portland (OR), USA, 1992, ISBN 0-931146-14-3