Health Benefits of Palmyra Fruit, Facts and Uses

What is the benefit of palmyra fruit? Palmyra Fruit is a plant with another name Borassus flabellifer. Commonly known as doub palm, tuning palm, palmyra palm, toddy palm, ice apple and wine palm are fan palm plants and they belong to the Arecaceae family, such as the black plum plant. Palmyra is a plant originating from the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. This includes plants which were later naturalized in China, Pakistan and Socotra. Apart from these names, there are several other popular names for the Palmyra tree. It is also known by the names African Fan Palm, Borassus Palm, Asian Palmyra Palm, Brab Tree, Doleib, Doub Palm, Cambodian Palm, Great Fan Palm, Lontar Palm, Ice-Apple, toddy, Palmyra Palm, Sea Apple, Ron Palm, Tal – Palm, Tala Palm, Sugar Palm, brab, sea apple, Toddy Palm, Wine Palm, fan palm, Nugnu Palm, black palm. The genus name is borassos, which comes from Greek, which means “immature spadix of date palm”. While Flabellatus is from Latin which means “like an open fan”. Indonesians used to use palm leaves as paper, because of the name lontar plam.

This tree has Toddy, this is the sweet tasting sap coming out of the Palmyra tree. Its benefit is as an ingredient in the preparation of jaggery palm. This sap is produced into an intoxicating drink called arak (alcoholic beverage). The palm tree has many benefits for humans, even almost all parts of the tree can be used. The tree is large and tall in the shape of a fan. It is also included in fruit trees such as coconut. The taste of the fruit is soft and the skin is fibrous like coconut husk. The fruit is 4-7 inches long, and when eaten, the top of the fruit is cut and then the jelly beans are taken inside.

Plant Description

Palmyra Fruit tree is tall, this is a single tree like a coconut tree, not branched. It can grow to a height of 20-30 meters. Large trees at the base can be up to 1.7 meters in diameter. The tree is sturdy cylindrical. The wood on the outside of this strong trunk can be used as furniture, pillars, and as a means of supporting the house (kutcha houses). There are also those who use the stem as a pipe to drain water in the agricultural area. Coastal people often use the trunk which has been dried and hollowed out in the middle as a boat. This palm tree will always be used, usually the old trunk is stronger and is often used in various interests according to the strength of the trunk. In fact, this tree trunk is traded. One stick costs around 700 rupees.

Leaves

In one palm tree, there are about 20-25 fresh leaves. The color is slightly grayish green and is shaped like a giant fan. Leaf size can be 1-2 meters. The leaves in one midrib usually consist of 30-40 linear lanceolate. The leaves are strong and can be used as a rope, the leaves are located on a hard wooden stalk about 2 meters in size. The petiole has fine spines on the top and rough on the bottom.

Palmyra tree leaves have many benefits and uses in human life. Usually used as thatching for kutcha houses, and fencing. It is also used as a material for making handicrafts such as making mats, fans, baskets, clothing and as an environmentally friendly hat-making material. There are also local people who use palmyra leaves to make children’s toys. So palm leaves are not only beneficial individually, they have economic benefits, ecological benefits, and have cultural benefits. The petiole is very long and large, usually used by local people as firewood, and it is one of the biggest sources of income for local people.

Flower

The papyrus or Borassus flabellifer is the same as all Borassus species. This tree has separate male and female flowers, just like the date palm which must be mated between male and female flowers. Male flowers are 90–150 cm long, and have many branches on the flowers. It is sub sessile, with narrowly cuneate sepals with truncate inflexed tips and obovate-spatulate and shorter petals.

Meanwhile, female flowers are 30 cm long with 8-16 flowers and are arranged in a spiral. The female palmyra flowers are large, fleshy, sepals, small seed petals, sub trigonous ovary, sessile, and recurved stigmas. The flowering period for palmyra trees is usually February to April.

Fruits

Palmyra fruit can be consumed directly for all people. Male flowers and female flowers are on different trees. Small, pale yellow flowers, growing in clusters with white cords adorning them. The fruit is round and usually in one tree can produce fruit as much as 50 to 300. The color of the fruit is black greenish, greenish white and black when ripe. They can be 4 to 7 or 8 cm in size. the outside of the fruit is protected by fibers like the coconut. In one fruit has three jelly sockets. This jelly is white like ice, and has sweet water in it. The liquid in the palmyra fruit is used as medicine by local people to treat skin diseases. Fresh fruit that has not been harvested is usually made into children’s toys, this is made as a wheel for children’s play.

Seeds

Each palmyra fruit contains one to 3 seeds inside which are wrapped in endocarp fiber skin. Young palm seeds are very slow in growth, they only produce a few leaves each year. However, in an uncertain time, sometimes they can grow quickly until they are towering and the stems become large.

History Palmyra

There are many opinions about the origin of the lontar tree, botanists say that this is a tree that originated in Africa, and was subsequently introduced to India.

Meanwhile, other opinions say that the palmyra tree is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia to tropical Asia. This tree is found growing wild in Indian forests. Several other countries also found this plant such as China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, West Malaysia, New Guinea and Indonesia. The Indians planted palm trees to withstand the winds of the land. Palmyra trees are also found growing in Hawaii and southern Florida.

Health Benefits of Palmyra Fruit

Palmyra fruit is rich in vitamins and minerals, this is a fruit that is useful for fighting diabetes. It includes foods rich in nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B, thiamine and riboflavin. The content of these important nutrients makes Palmyra fruit have many health benefits, including:

1. Good for digestion

Palm fruit or palmyra fruit is a fruit that is very good for digestive problems and is also used as an upset stomach. Palmyra fruit is useful for relieving constipation and stimulating bowel movements. This fruit also overcomes stomach acid and ulcers. For pregnant women, they are advised to consume apple ice, to alleviate some minor problems that may occur during pregnancy.

Also see: Jacote Fruit Facts (Spanish Plum)

2. Good for skin health

Palmyra fruit is useful for dealing with skin diseases that usually occur during summer. Among them are heat rash and prickly heat. On problematic skin, use palm fruit pulp, this will soothe and heal skin diseases. The pulp of the palmyra fruit is also beneficial for treating itching associated with summer. The stinging heat sometimes also causes redness of the skin, this can also be cured by placing the pulp of the palm fruit on the infected area. This fruit contains anti-inflammatory which is good for treating diseases caused by inflammation.

3. As a body cooler

Palmyra fruit is a good fruit to cure heartburn. Consuming this fruit during the summer can keep the body cool even though the climate is hot. Regarding heat, consuming lontar fruit regularly can treat and prevent diseases such as dry skin, dehydration, prickly heat, kidney failure and can even be a traditional medicine to treat hair loss.

4. Good for you to lose weight

Whether you are on a weight loss diet, try to consume palmyra fruit regularly, it will help you lose weight. The high water content in Palmyra fruit is good enough to keep you full and make you not want to increase your meal portion. In turn, this will prevent you from snacking and will slowly lose weight.

5. Treating migraines

Furthermore, the benefits of palmyra fruit are as a traditional medicine for treating migraines. The nutritional content in Palmyra is good for treating this extraordinary headache.

6. Prevent diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease resulting from a lack of insulin production, so that the content in the blood cannot be completely converted into energy. Palmyra fruit has a low glycemic index, it is great as a sugar substitute. So, this is great for preventing diabetes.

Sugar consumption does not increase blood sugar quickly, but diabetics are expected to be careful about consuming sugar.

Also see: Toothache Plant Health Benefits

7. Treating many diseases

Palm fruit contains antioxidants, anti-inflammatory. Fruit pulp is good for treating skin inflammation. It is also useful for dealing with nausea, vomiting and intestinal worms. It is great to use as a liver tonic and as an expectorant.

8. Storehouse of vegetable nutrition

Palm fruit is rich in several phyto chemicals that have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This substance is useful for slowing down aging, reducing the risk of serious diseases such as liver, heart disease and cancer.

Traditional Uses and Benefits of Palmyra Fruit

Most parts of the palmyra tree from base to shoot have medicinal value
The benefits of young plants are to treat stone bladder, dysentery, and relieve bile.
Young roots are diuretic and anthelmintic, this herb is given to sufferers of certain diseases
Ash of the spadix is taken to treat heartburn, enlarged spleen and good for liver health.
The ingredients of the skin, mixed with salt, are used for mouth washing, and the charcoal is used for brushing the teeth.
The sap of flower stalks is used as a diuretic, tonic, stimulant, anti-phlegmatic, amoebicide and as a laxative.
The sugar made from this sap is said to be good at fighting poisoning, and it is absorbed by the skin and liver.
Candied palmyra fruit is great for fighting lung complaints
Fresh toddy, heated to promote fermentation, is used as a boil medicine.
The flesh of the ripe fruit is good for treating dermatitis
Boiled bark, added with salt is good for dessert.
You can also suck the roots of the tree to treat nasal problems
Flower ashes are used to treat an enlarged liver, spleen
Has the potential to suppress body immunity
Mash the roots and make a paste with large water, consume at a dose of 5-6 to treat diarrhea.
This paste can also be applied to the navel to treat diarrhea
Decoction of tree bark mixed with a pinch of salt and make a mouthwash, this is good for treating gingivitis and mouth sores.
Jaggery made from Palmyra fruit juice can be used as a tonic to strengthen the uterine muscles in post-partum women.
The juices from the petioles and young roots are great for treating inflammation of the membranes and hiccups.
The milk from the unripe seeds has a sweet taste. It’s also great as a remedy for hiccups and other ailments.

Other Facts

The palm tree has black wood, is sturdy, unique and hard, and durable. It is invaluable for home construction, furniture, particleboard, as well as making handles and sticks.

The leaves and wood and leaf stalks are used as firewood.
The chopped palmyra leaves are used as green manure in the fields.
The leaves are seasoned, dried and made into straw, mats, baskets, hats, fans, used as umbrellas and so on.
The leaves were used as a place to write, this is practiced in Indonesia and is known as palm leaves.
Palm trees have 5 important fibers: Free fiber from the base of the leaves, long fibers from the petiole, fibers from the trunk, coir fibers in the fruit skin, and fibers from strong leaves, so many of the leaves are used as a tie.
The fibers at the base of the leaves are extracted and used in various brush models
The fibers from the leaf midrib are used as the basic material for making brooms.