This post will provide information on "What are the health benefits of peppert fruit (Dennettia tripetala)?" as well as provide answers to questions like: What are the health benefits of pepper? What is botanical name of pepper fruit? What is pepper fruit? Is pepper fruit good for diabetes? Is Dennettia Tripetala good for pregnancy? What does pepper fruit gives to the body? Is it good for a pregnant woman to eat pepper fruit? Is pepper fruit good for diabetes? What is the botanical name for pepper fruit? What is the Yoruba name for pepper fruit? What is the English name for Mmimi?
Dennettia tripetala, hereafter referred to as DT, is also known as pepperfruit. It is widely grown in the rain forest zones of Nigeria and some parts of West Africa. DT is commonly consumed for its spicy taste. It is known in Nigeria by the following names: Ako (Edo), Mmimi (Ibo), Ata Igbere (Yoruba). It is also used in traditional medicine as a remedy for cough, fever, toothache, diarrhea, diabetes, and nausea in pregnant women. It grows as a small woody shrub. The tree can grow to a height of 12–15 m and have a girth of 0.6 m. The wood is white in color and soft. The bark of DT possesses a very strong characteristic scent. The fruits are green when developing but start to turn red with ripening. The moisture content also increases with ripening. The fruits possess a very strong characteristic smell. A tree of the rain-forest and occasionally in the savanna, to 18 m high by 60 cm girth, of limited distribution in Ivory Coast, S Nigeria and W Cameroons.The wood is white, soft and not durable, and is susceptible to termites. Bark is fibrous and strongly scented.The young leaves are chewed on account of their pungent spicy taste.The fruits, green at first then turning red, ripen in April and May have a peppery spicy taste and are chewed for this property. The fruit is held to be a good source of vitamin.
- The Pepper fruit oil extract holds a compound named 1-nitro-2-phenol ethane which has an anticonvulsant and hypnotic effect that can heal infant convulsion effectively
- The fruit seeds are vital for preparing food for newborn mothers without delay after childbirth as the spice aids in uterus contraction
- The healthy fruits and leaves can be used for making herbal medicines for treating typhoid
- Cures kidney and liver damage
- The leaves, roots, and fruits can be used for producing herbal medicines for treating diarrhea, stomach upset, and vomiting and worm infestation
- The essential oil from the fruit contains anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and the oil can be used for reducing body inflammation and pain
- This African fruit is useful for fighting viruses such as cold, cough and fever
- Hexanolic extract from Dennettia tripetala fruits is latent as an insecticidal property
- Pepper fruit seed can reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) considerably up to 25% in people suffering from glaucoma
- The juice was found to possess growth-inhibitory and cytotoxic effects on the prostate cancer cell lines in vitro
- These medicinal fruits contain important antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and flavonoids which fight against free radicals that have the tendency to cause sicknesses in the body system
- Pepper fruit seed has an ethanol extract which contains anti-ulcer properties owing to the presence of flavonoid in the fruit and this ethanol extract from the seed helps in terminating stomach ulcers
Although pepper fruit causes contraction of the uterus, which is good for nursing mothers, it also can lead to adverse conditions and even forced or premature labour for pregnant women, especially in the third trimester.