Santol is one of the fruit that is rich in benefits with a sweet and sour taste when it is ripe. This time we will talk about all things related to santol including the health benefits of santol fruit, as well as interesting facts related to santol fruit.
The Santol fruit has many names, including kechapi, lolly fruit, this is an ornamental evergreen plant in the Mahonimeliaceae family. Santol in scientific language is known as Sandoricum koetjape. Santol has several common names such as Kechapi, Santol, Lolly Fruit, Sentol, Red santol, Wild Mangosteen, cotton fruit, sentul, sandal, Sayai and Visayan.
The santol tree is native to Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia, but later spread to Indonesia, India, Borneo, Borneo, Mauritius, the Philippines and the Andaman Islands. Now the xantol plant is well known to Taiwan, China, and Australia as well as several locations in America and southern Florida. The xantol plant is usually cultivated on the Asian continent and they take the fruit from this tree to be sold or eaten. The fruit is round, juicy with white seeds on the inside, the flesh and seeds are both edible. However, the seeds are usually only sucked and thrown away.
Filipinos eat the santol fruit with their nikat, as do the Indonesians of Sumatra. They eat the santol with salt and give it a spicy taste from the chili. But now the santol has been ripened and eaten afterwards in a delicious and sweet condition. Parts of the xantol plant have medicinal effects such as treating diarrhea and dysentery. As a carminative, it is also mixed with vinegar and water. The root of the xantol plant is known as a stomachic and as an antispasmodic.
Plant Description
Santol fruit is delicious and joyful, sour and sweet taste gives its own taste, especially with sweet seeds when the fruit is fully ripe.
The santol tree grows up to 50 meters high with a branching system at the top. This plant is grayish in color and has many branches. The leaves are large and green, and some are orange, ready to fall. The santol tree has a habit of growing straight and upright and when it is big, its trunk can be used as a board. The stems when cut produce milky sap.
The chrysanthemum can grow in sandy, oolitic calcareous soils, and it is completely frost intolerant. That is why, the xantol tree is not suitable for planting in the northern and southern parts of the earth. But it is very good to grow around the equator.
Varieties of Santol
The santol plant is botanically divided into two types. There are types of yellow fruit and red fruit. Santol with yellow fruit is known as “S. indicum” or S. nervosum. Meanwhile, the red variety is known as S. koetjape.
1. Yellow Santol
Yellow Santol has long leaves and tends to turn yellow when old. While the yellow xantol flowers are pink in panicles up to 6 inches long. While the fruit has a thin skin and flesh with a thickness of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, and the flesh around the seed is usually sweeter. When ripe on the tree, the fruit does not fall to the ground.
2. Red Santol
The leaves of the santol plant with red fruit are rather long and are about 30 cm. The underside of the leaves is velvety, and turns red as it matures. The red palm flower is green or ivory. Red coconuts have thick skins, and usually the skin thickness can be 1/2 inch. If the fruit is ripe, it will fall off and taste more sour.
Also read: The List of Fruits That are Not Round, 13 Popular Fruits
Health Benefits of Santol Fruit
Santol is a plant that popular for its health benefits. Not only the santol fruit that is beneficial for health, but also the leaves, fruit peel and bark are all useful in curing certain diseases.
Want to know what are the benefits of santol fruit for health, this fruit in the people of Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines is used as a traditional medicine in curing several health problems. Among them:
1. Reduce Bad Cholesterol (LDL)
Santol fruit is rich in pectin and soluble fiber. The content of good cholesterol (HDL) and other substances will bind to bad cholesterol (LDL) in the intestine and excreted through feces. It is also great for preventing fat absorption in the bloodstream. If our bodies are rich in bad cholesterol then this can trigger heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and other problems related to blood vessels.
2. Prevent Diabetes
The benefits of santol for health are also important for degenerative diseases such as diabetes. The high fiber content in the santol fruit provides benefits for preventing diabetes. Fiber will slow down the process of digesting food so it doesn’t cause a spike in sugar. That is, by consuming foods rich in fiber, our bodies will be healthy and good at losing weight.
3. Prevent Cancers
The benefits of santol fruit for health are also important in preventing cancer. We know that the santol fruit contains many antioxidants which are good enough to fight free radicals or cancer-causing agents.
A study on cancer, this study was conducted on mice with mammary tumors. These mice were given xantol extract every day, and over time the tumor levels in the mice continued to decrease.
4. Control Body Weight
Weight is one of the problems in the modern era, lifestyle is one of the causes. The modern lifestyle is a lifestyle that lacks fiber. Most fast food is empty with nutrients including fiber so that the positive effects of food on health begin to diminish.
By consuming the santol fruit, then you can get a lot from the fiber content. Fiber does not move the intestines to excrete stool, but it is also useful for making us full quickly for a long time. This is good enough for us to stay without food because we are still full. With a variety of nutrients, consuming santol fruit can provide many health benefits such as losing weight, maintaining ideal body weight, preventing obesity, preventing sleep disorders and hormonal disorders.
5. Prevent Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the anus. These blood vessels function in controlling stool. However, if they experience swelling, inflammation, and thrombosis, they are called hemorrhoids.
Sentol fruit contains vitamin C which is very important to promote healthy endothelium in blood vessels. While the fiber content also helps prevent this disease because it keeps the consistency of the stool soft and easy to pass. Soft stools are easy to pass without straining. So, this will not cause damage to the blood vessels around the anus.
The process of formation of hemorrhoids is a result of straining, where when pushing there is an emphasis on the abdomen which causes the formation of thrombosis, this is a condition where the blood around the lower abdomen cannot circulate properly.
6. Boost the immune system
Santol fruit is also useful for increasing immunity. This fruit contains quercetin, an antioxidant that can help increase endurance. Quercetin is a flavonoid that is also found in a number of vegetables and fruits, including the xantol fruit.
These flavonoids are not only for endurance, but are also useful for preventing the formation of cancer cells. But we still need further research to determine the relationship between flavonoids and cancer. Our bodies really need the antioxidant quercetin, so we feel it is important to eat santol fruit.
7. Treat diarrhea and constipation
The rich fiber in the santol fruit can provide assistance to the defecation process. Fiber can draw water out of the intestines or absorb water from the stool so it doesn’t cause diarrhea, this will facilitate the process of removing waste.
8. Maintain Healthy Teeth
The benefits of santol fruit for dental health. When you bite the santol, and chew it, it stimulates the production of saliva. Well, the condition of a lot of saliva can prevent the formation of dental caries and prevent the growth of oral bacteria.
See also; Wisdom Teeth Removal Anesthesia Option
9. Bone Health
Santol fruit is rich in calcium and phosphorus whose benefits are to maintain bone and tooth density. Consuming foods rich in calcium and phosphorus is good in providing protection against osteoporosis and strengthening tooth enamel.
10. Prevent Anemia
Another benefit of santol fruit for health is as a natural remedy to prevent anemia. Anemia is a health condition resulting from a lack of red blood cells or a lack of blood count.
Eating santol fruit can increase the production of platelets because it is rich in iron. While the content of vitamin C is good in the absorption of iron in the intestine. Both these minerals and vitamins are in the xantol fruit.
11. Delay Aging Process
Santol fruit is rich in vitamin E, this is collagen which is very important for skin elasticity. Vitamin E and Vitamin C are two important antioxidants that can tighten the skin, treat inflammation and are great for preventing wrinkles. In addition, vitamin C is also good for preventing premature aging and is good for healing skin diseases.
Also read: 13 Best Antioxidant-Rich Foods: Guides and Benefits
12. Prevent Alzheimer
Alzheimer’s is a forgotten disease that occurs due to aging of brain cells. Consuming santol fruit juice regularly can prevent you from Alzheimer’s disease because of the high content of anti-oxidants in coconut milk.
13. Anti-allergy
Why is the santol fruit good for allergies, it turns out that it contains Sandorinic acid and Bryonotic acid. These two compounds are the best agents for preventing and treating allergies. If you are allergic, you can routinely eat santol fruit every day and see its progress.
14. Mosquito Repellent
In the Philippines there is a study that examines the stem of the santol as an anti-mosquito burn. The results of the research then bore fruit, where now they are producing insect repellent from this stem. This product has no side effects on humans and your pets.
The benefits of santol in repelling mosquitoes are very effective and this can reduce the number of malaria patients, dengue fever patients, which often occurs in a number of European countries.
15. Tonic after childbirth
After giving birth, mothers need treatment to restore their bodies. Malaysians are used to restoring health after giving birth by boiling the stems of santol. Coconut water decoction is used as a tonic after childbirth.
See too: Red Durian Fruit (Durio Graveolens)
16. Treat vaginal infections and vaginal discharge
To treat vaginal infections, boil the bark of the santol, and use this boiled water (when it is cold) as water to wash the vulva and vagina, do this treatment every day for a speedy recovery.
17. Termite Repellent and Insecticide
The benefits of coconut shells are to repel termites, and the quality is the same as other commercial products. If you have a xantol tree in your garden, then just take the bark extract of the Santol tree. It is a natural insecticide with mild killing power. So for maximum results, you can apply several times in your home to repel termites.
Santol bark extract is a natural insecticide, environmentally friendly, organic, odorless and free of harmful chemicals.
Other Facts of Santol
- The tree has many branches and is shady so it is useful as a pretty good shade tree.
- The santol tree is not only planted for its fruit, but the santol tree is also widely planted on the roadside as an aesthetic.
- The roots of the xantol plant are important for soil conservation. The roots of the xantol plant form vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae which are important for improving soil.
- The seeds of the santol fruit are used as an insecticide, and the fruit is used as bait for fish in Sarawak.
- The trunk of the santol plant is also good as wood for making houses, and so on.
- Fragrant wood is used in fragrances
- Santol wood contains tannins and this is great for use in tanning fishing lines.
- The extract from the santol seeds is used as a natural insecticide
- Santol tree wood is also good for burning to make charcoal with good quality.
Those are some of the health benefits of Santol fruit and interesting facts around the Santol fruit and stems
