Family: myrtaceae
Gender: psydium
Species: guava
Common name: guava, goiaba, guava, djamboe, djambu, goavier, goyave, guava
General description: The guava tree is easily identified by its distinctive thin, smooth, copper-colored bark that flakes off and shows a greenish coating underneath. Guava trees can reach 20 meters in height with tennis ball-sized fruits that possess a yellow to green skin with bright pink fleshy flesh inside.
Guava is rich in tannins, phenols, triterpenes, flavonoids, essential oils, saponins, carotenoids, lectins, vitamins, fiber, and fatty acids. Guava is richer in vitamin C than citrus (80 mg of vitamin C in 100 g of fruit) and also contains appreciable amounts of vitamin A. Guava fruits are also a good source of pectin, a dietary fiber. Guava leaves are rich in flavonoids, in particular, quercetin. The flavonoids, as a group, have shown antibacterial activity. Quercetin, in addition to its antibacterial properties, is also believed to contribute to guava’s antidiarrheal effect by relaxing intestinal smooth muscle and inhibiting intestinal contractions.
To lease: Centuries ago, European adventurers, traders, and missionaries in the Amazon Basin brought the much-loved and flavorful fruits to Africa, Asia, India, and the tropical Pacific, so that they are now grown throughout the tropical regions of the world.
Applications: Commercially, the fruit is eaten fresh or used to make jams, jellies, pastes, and juices. Today, guava is considered minor in terms of commercial world trade, but it is widely grown in the tropics and enriches the diet of hundreds of millions of people in the world’s tropics. Guava has spread widely throughout the tropics because it thrives in a variety of soils, spreads easily, and bears fruit relatively quickly. The fruits contain numerous seeds that can produce a mature fruit-bearing plant in four years. In the Amazon rainforest, birds and monkeys greatly enjoy guava fruits, which scatter guava seeds in their droppings and cause spontaneous groups of guava trees to sprout throughout the jungle.
Disclaimer: The statements contained in this document have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Any reference to medicinal use is not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.
