African Cherry (White Star Apple)

African Cherry (White Star Apple)

African Cherry (White Star Apple) is a fleshy fruit stuffed with many important nutrients needed by the body. African cherry is called Agbalumo in Yoruba language, Udara in Igbo language and Otien in some part of Nigeria. It is also called ‘ white star apple’ due to the arrangement of the seeds inside and botanically called Chrysophyllum albidum, African cherry or white star apple belongs to the Sapotaceae family. It can be found throughout tropical Africa, the fruit has many health benefits.
When you eat cherries, you enjoy much more than just their amazing taste. Cherries are packed with antioxidants and offer many health benefits, including help with insomnia, joint pain and belly fat. Cherries could be just what the doctor ordered. Cherry is as a good source of calcium which is about 10% the amount you need in a day. This implies that eating cherries everyday will ensure proper and healthy growth of your bone and teeth. Other benefits are:

1. Good source of Vitamin A and C. A single cherry fruit provides about 5 percent of the daily recommended value of these vitamins in the body.
2. Helps to prevent gum diseases such as scurvy and also helps fight other diseases in the body.
3. According to the locals, this amazing fruit can be used as a natural remedy to treat sore throat, toothaches, and constipation.
4.  Parts of the trees (the leaves, roots and barks) can also be used in times past in preparing herbs to treat cough, yellow fever and high blood pressure. It has also been said to help in weight management.
5. This fruit provides 3g of the recommended 25 to 38g daily intake of fibre needed by the body.
6. It helps in lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, thus, could be useful in preventing heart-related diseases.
7. The seeds are useful in treatment of diarrhea.
8. Regular eating of cherries help in subduing hypertension. Cherries contain fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, and anthocyanins, each of which may help play a role in cancer prevention.
9. Eating two servings of cherries after an overnight fast lead to a 15% reduction in uric acid, and lower nitric oxide and C-reactive protein levels [which are associated with inflammatory diseases like gout disease characterized by the inflammation of the joints (mainly of the feet and hands)]

This beautiful fruit can be gotten mostly everywhere in Nigeria towards the end of November till later in March when it would have gone out of season. Presently is the season of this wonderful fruit. Try as much as possible to take an adequate amount of this fruit to obtain its maximum benefit.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of people interviewed in Nigeria, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the people. I encourage you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.