HOW AFRICAN PEAR BOOSTS IMMUNITY AGAINST DISEASESHOW AFRICAN PEAR BOOSTS IMMUNITY AGAINST DISEASES

Studies revealed that buttery African pear
is loaded with essential ingredients for
warding off diseases.
IT is uniquely different in appearance,
shape and size from the common pear.
Ube as it is locally called among the Igbos in
the south-east of Nigeria, African pear is
botanically known as Dascroides edulis, of
the family Burseraceae. African pear tree is
typically planted for its shade and its fruit.
Also, the bark of the tree is aromatic.
Nutritionists said that its pulpy pericarp has
the qualities of butter and indeed rich in oil
and vitamins! Cooked flesh of the fruit has a
texture similar to butter. It is this portion of
the delicious African pear that is eaten,
either raw or cooked, especially with corn –
cooked or roasted. Pear and corn share
similar season and mix well in the bowels
too.
Studies however revealed that African pear
is rich in carbohydrates, sugars, fiber,
vitamins, especially thiamine, riboflavin,
niacin, panthotenate folate, vitamin C and
vitamin B6.
Secretary General, West African Association
of Food Science and Technology (WAAFoST),
Prof. Osaretin Ebuehi told The Guardian that
pear contains several minerals, such as
calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium,
phosphorus, and zinc.
“Pears have antioxidant properties, because
they are rich in Vitamin C and therefore can
protect body cells from oxygen-related
damage caused by free radicals. The
presence of fiber in pears helps prevent
constipation and also ensures regularity of
bowel movement.
“Studies have revealed that eating pears
help protect women against
postmenopausal breast cancer. Pear is
described as a hypoallergenic fruit, that is,
less likely to produce an adverse response
than other fruits.
“Regular consumption of pears might lower
the risk of age-related macular
degeneration, the main cause of vision loss
in older adults.
It has been reported that pears help lower
blood pressure and also reduce the chances
of a stroke,” he said.
Osaretin, who is also the Head of
Department of Biochemistry, College of
Medicine, University of Lagos, added that
the high content of pectin in pears makes
them useful in lowering of cholesterol
levels.
“Pears have been found to be good for
colon health. Pear juice, being rich in
fructose and glucose, serves as a very quick
source of energy. Drinking a glass of pear
juice is believed to be helpful in bringing
down fever.”
He added that the antioxidant properties of
African pear makes it good for
strengthening of the immune system, while
the consumption of pear juice helps relieve
pain in various inflammatory conditions.
“The presence of boron in it helps the body
retain calcium and thus, reduces the risk of
osteoporosis. The folic acid in pear prevents
neural tube defects in infants,” he said.
A Microbiologist, Olanrewaju Disu, added
that it is believed that “resin” which is
secreted by the African pear is of medicinal
value, useful in the treatment of parasitic
skin diseases.
As traditional food plant in Africa, this little-
known fruit has potential to improve
nutrition, boost food security, foster rural
development and support sustainable land
care.
The main use of D. edulis is its fruit, which
can be eaten either raw or cooked in salt
water or roasted. The pulp contains 48 per
cent oil and a plantation can produce 7-8
tons of oil per hectare. It is also rich in
vitamins.
Dacryodes edulis is an evergreen tree is
native to Africa, attaining a height of 18–40
m in the forest but not exceeding 12 m in
plantations.
It has a relatively short trunk and a deep,
dense crown. The bark is pale gray and
rough with droplets of resin. The leaves are
a compound with 5-8 pairs of leaflets. The
upper surface of the leaves is glossy.
The flowers are yellow and about 5 mm
across. They are arranged in a large
inflorescence. The tree flowers at the
beginning of the rainy season and bears
fruits during 2 to 5 months after flowering.
There are two variants of Dacryodes edulis:
D. e. var. edulis and D. e. var. parvicarpa. The
fruit of D. e. var. edulis is larger and the tree
has stout, ascending branches. D. e. var.
parvicarpa has smaller fruit and slender,
drooping branches.
The tree is also a source of many traditional
medicines. The plant has long been used in
the traditional medicine of some African
countries to treat various ailments such as
wound, skin diseases, dysentery and fever.
The extracts and secondary metabolites
have been found to show biological
activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant
and anti sickle-cell disease. A wide range of
chemical constituents such as terpenes,
flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins
have been isolated from the plant.
In a study published in Science World
Journal, A publication of Faculty of Science
Kaduna State University, titled: “Nutritional
Composition and Microbial Spoilage of
Dacryodes edulis Fruits Nigeria” in 2010 by
Omogbai B. A., Ojeaburu S. I., they noted that
proximate analysis revealed that moisture
content, lipids, protein, ash, crude fibre and
carbohydrate ranged between 44.45-50.93
per cent, 30.55-35.60 per cent, 2.89-4.16
per cent, 2.65-2.76 per cent, 1.52-1.61 per
cent, and 9.75-12.59 per cent respectively.
“The most abundant mineral element in the
fruit pulp was phosphorus
(692.55-698.40mg/100g) followed by
potassium (540.81-553.15mg/100g),
calcium (347.50-354.6mg/100g),
magnesium (280.15-287.65mg/100g) and
sodium (162.50-170.0mg/100g).
“While the lowest concentration of nutrients
use recorded for zinc (3.65-3.81mg/100g),
iron (3.43-3.58mg/100g) and copper
(0.38-0.45mg/100g).
“The heavy metals lead, cadmium, mercury
and arsenic were not detected in all
samples. The anti-nutrient levels in all
samples were low following WHO standard
for foods. The bacterial burden of fresh
pulp samples was higher (2.82-3.18 log cfu/
g.) than the fungi load (2.58-2.72 log cfu/g).
“Microbial spoilage resulted in log increase
of these numbers. Of the 17
microorganisms isolated from Dacryodes
edulis pulp samples, Erwinia carotovora,
Pseudomonas flourescens and mostly with
roasted or boiled maize (Zea mays) or
sometimes with cassava in Nigeria.
“Bacillus subtilis had the highest
frequencies of 32.7, 23.2 and 12.5 per cent
respectively amongst the bacteria. The
predominant fungal spoilage organisms
were Sacchacromyces, cerevisiae, Rhizopus
stolonifer and Penicilium expansum.”