Japanese plum, Japanese medlar, Maltese plum succulent, tangy yet sweet, wonderfully delicious loquat fruit is rich in vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Loquat is popular all over the world owing to the mild, subacid and sweet taste of its fruit. Besides being sweet and juicy it is very nutritious. It contains vitamins (A, B, and C), minerals (phosphorus and calcium) and Sugars. It is generally used for dessert purpose as well as for making jelly, jam and preserve, squash, canning and chutney. Fruits and leaves of loquat have been considered to have high medicinal value.
Medicinal value
Fruits
Loquats are highly recommended in cases of excess uric acid, kidney stones, kidney failure, and gout.
Loquat helps decongest the volume of an enlarged liver (hepatomegaly) and also reduces ascites that are followed by liver degeneration. The regular consumption of loquat proves somehow effective in cases of Chronic liver diseases as: Cirrhosis, Hepatitis, Fatty degeneration of the liver
Regular consumption of loquats in cases of common cold is highly beneficial.
Leaves
Leaves are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, skin diseases and are used as a folk medicine for the treatment of chronic bronchitis, coughs, phlegm, high fever and ulcers.
Loquat leaves have ursolic acid and oleanolic acid both having hypoglycaemic and antihyperlipidaemic properties .
Loquat leaf's oldest reported benefit is the reduction of skin inflammation.
Loquat leaf is the 2-alpha-hydoxyursolic acid and it has the anti-HIV effec
Leaf should not be used for cough caused by cold.
Seeds
Loquat seed extract has an inhibitory effect on liver disorder.
It also has the anti-inflammatory effects
Nutrition
The table below shows the amount of each nutrient per 100 g of fruit
|
Nutrient value of loquat fruit |
|
|
Constituent |
Content (per 100 g fruit) |
|
Ash (g)
|
0.5 |
|
Calcium (mg)
|
16 |
|
Calories (kcal)
|
47 |
|
Carbohydrate (g)
|
12.14 |
|
Carotene (μg)
|
559 |
|
Fat (g)
|
0.2-0.7 |
|
Iron (mg)
|
0.28 |
|
Magnesium (mg) |
13
|
|
Phosphorus (mg)
|
27 |
|
Potassium (mg)
|
266 |
|
Protein (g) |
0.43
|
|
Sodium (mg)
|
1.0 |
|
Total carotenoids (μg)
|
196 |
|
Total dietary fiber (g) |
1.7
|
|
Total flavonoids (mg)
|
24.3 |
|
Total phenolics (mg)
|
33.6 |
|
Vitamin A (IU)
|
1528 |
|
Vitamin C (mg) |
1.0
|
|
Water (g) |
86.73
|
Sources: United states Department of Agriculture (USDA, 2018)
Author:
Asrar Ahmad
MSc. Fruit Science
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu