6 Health Benefits of Soursop

Soursop is a miracle fruit with wonderful health benefits and medicinal uses. Here in Tamil Nadu, it is very famous for it’s anti cancer properties. All parts of this plant including the leaves, fruits and stem are used for medicinal purposes.

We have this tree in our farm and use the extracts in remedies. Though this plant has many medicinal uses, it is not ideal for consuming for long duration’s of time, I would suggest getting to know this plant in detail before taking it’s extracts.

Soursop also called as graviola is the fruit of Annona muricata tree. It is a small ever green tree that produces large oval shaped fruits that are dark green in color with leathery looking skin and short spines. It is native to South and North America but is now found widely in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. The fruit can weigh more than four kilos and consists of white fibrous juicy segments with black seeds inside them.

The flesh is white in colour and almost resembles custard apple but it is slightly acidic and more fibrous when compared to custard apple. When the fruit reaches maturity, there is a slight paling of the green colour and the fruit will be soft to the touch. But during late ripening stages the colour turns brown.

# Anti Cancer Properties

The leaf, seed, twigs, stem and fruit have anticancer properties. AGE along with other extracts have been proven to be effective against breast, ovarian, cervical, glioma, skin cancer, stomach, melanoma, hepatic, pancreatic, renal, leukaemia, bladder and prostate cancer cells !

# Anti Arthritic Properties

Another important medicinal use of soursop leaves is reducing arthritic pain. In a study, ethanolic extract of soursop leaves reduced the pain and inflammation in dose-dependent manner after two weeks. This is due to the powerful anti inflammatory properties present.

# Anticonvulsant Properties

In Africa, soursop leaf extract is used to control fever and convulsive seizures. This traditional use has been proven through research now, 100 to 300 mg of extract per kg has been shown to decrease the occurrence of convulsions.

# Anti Diabetic Properties

Traditionally soursop leaf extract has been used to bring down high blood sugar levels. In a clinical study done on mice, methanol extract of the leaves for two weeks significantly reduced the blood glucose concentration from 21 to 4 mmol/L. This is due to the antioxidant properties and the protective effects of the extract against pancreatic beta cells.

# Reduces High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

The water extract of the leaves helps bring down high blood pressure and you can read the study that supports this claim here. The extract also helps decrease serum total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides so it is very good for people suffering from high cholesterol levels.

# Antioxidant & Wound Healing properties

It is very important that we consume antioxidant foods as it helps reduce oxidative stress which is the major reason for premature ageing. Almost all parts of soursop has significant antioxidant properties. Because of it’s antioxidant properties, the leaf extract also helps with faster wound healing.