Pineapple: Ananas sativa; syn. Ananas cosmosus. A member of the Bromeliaceae family and native to South and Central America now grown throughout the tropics. There are a number of tree perching bromeliads but the pineapple is ground planted and so familiar it requires no customary description, except to explain that the dense rosette of thick aloe-like leaves allow the plant to maximize the use of rainfall.
The main pharmaceutical content of the plant is bromelain, a group of proteolytic enzymes that digest protein; commercial bromelain is obtained from the plant stem and was first introduced as a therapeutic agent in l957.
The healing claims attributed to bromelain are remarkable and justify more than brief interest as an addition to the Christmas table.
The plant exerts a wide variety of pharmaceutical effects; as a digestive in cases of pancreatic insufficiency, as a powerful anti-inflammatory in cases of arthritis; some case studies suggest that bromelain is similar to corticosteroids but without the damaging side effects such as high blood pressure and bone damage. It is most useful in preventing oedema, particularly in post surgical conditions; it will inhibit platelet aggregations, enhance anti-biotic absorption, relieve mucous retention, prevent ulcer formation and has proved effective in treating phlebitis, deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins. In animal and human trials it has shown a propensity to inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors. A German experiment conducted in l976 used bromelain as a supplement to some chemotherapeutic drugs such as vincristine with beneficial results. At about the same time the French were using high doses of bromelain to reduce cancerous masses in ovarian and breast tumors.
Pineapple juice has long been used in folk medicine to reduce severe bruising and this has been taken up by contact sports participants. In l960, a group of amateur boxers were given pineapple following their contests and it was found that the facial bruising healed in four days in stead of the usual 10-day period.
Cosmetic face masks often contain bromelain which actually eats the dead skin cells. In addition to bromelain, pineapple contains vitamins A B and C and in the tropics is used to treat beri-beri and parasitic worms; southern Asians use it to clear smoker’s lung, and
fibre taken from the very tough leaf is used as embroidery thread
We have grown pineapples at our experimental station at Zygi but they failed to excite commercial interest.. Finally; yes, you can plant the coma (leaf top) for propagation, but you will be very lucky to get a pineapple for christmas
Next week Saw palmetto.
