Kavath(wood apple)
Kavath which is known as wood apple in English. It is also called as kapittha in sanskrit. It have a very hard skin which can be difficult to crack open, it appears greenish-brown in colour from outside and contains sticky brown, juicy pulp inside with small white seeds. Kavath tree has very large canopy and it produces large amout fruits in season of summer (December-april). Wood apples are native to India, parts of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, andaman islands and Pakistan. According to Hindu religion this fruit is offered to the god Ganesha.
It is very delicious fruit with combination of different tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter and in some amount fermented. Somehow it resembles to tamarind due to its sour-sweet taste. It’s plup texture is not so good but it’s taste is delicious with combination of tastes. it shows immune boosting, antiinflammatory, antibiotic, Antioxidant(reduces the free radical damage), Muscle relaxant properties. ripened fruit has pleasant smell
Vitamins and minerals content:
This fruits is full of vitamins ( Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Vitamin C, etc ), minerals( calcium, iron, magnese zinc, phosphorus, chromium, etc ), compounds(Coumarins, Phytosterols, Tyramine derivatives, Flavanones, Limonoids).
•This fruit has high flavonoid content. Flavonoids protect against a number of diseases and disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus cancer, heart diseases, arthritis, and cataracts.
Rich in phytochemicals
This fruit rinch in phytochemicals such as alkaloids, saponins
•alkaloids act as muscle relaxant wih some anaesthetic property and relives spasm(sudden contraction) of smooth muscle.
•saponins boost the immune system and lowers the cholesterol levels
Ayurvedic explanation of this frut in sanskrit
•Guru – heavy to digest
•Kashaya – astringent
•Amla – sour
•Svadu – sweet
•Hikka – relieves hiccups
•Tridoshajit – Balances all the three Doshas
•Kanthashodhana – cleanses throat, useful in soar throat
•Sangrahi – absorbent, useful in diarrhea, IBS
•Rochana – improves taste, relieves anorexia
•Hrudya – acts as cardiac tonic, congenial for heart
•Durjara – takes a long time to undergo digestion
Health benefits
- relif from constipation
Wood apple is full of fiber and the fiber is most important substance to get relief from constipation. Being it is very hard to digest but it is very useful in case of constipation. This fruit also gives relief from diarrhoea, piles, peptic ulcer.
Tip: intake is in moderate amount.
- purifies the blood
This fruit shows many antitoxic, antiinflammatory, antibiotic property which helps in purification of blood. Means helps in removal of toxins.
- type 2 diabetes mellitus
Malondialdehyde is a harmful by-product formed by free radicals. The concentration of malondialdehyde increases in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and it plays a major role in onset of diabetic complications. Wood apple has also shown to reduce the plasma levels of malondialdehyde and thus, prevents or reduce the complication.
- asthma
It very effective fruit or medicine for asthma. flavonoids, polyphenols, glycosides, saponins, tannins and alkaloids content in it helps in dilation of bronchii and bronchioles which leads to easy breathing.
Recipes of kavath
Recipes that I know are
kavath chutney
sweet kavath Chikki( vadi)
kavath shake
kavath juice
kavath sharbat, etc
Note: 1) this fruit is very useful in condition such as vomiting, asthma and chronic respiratory disorders, excessive thirst, cough, cold, urinary tract disorders.
it shows many properties such as Neuro- protective action, Analgesic action, Hepato- protective action and many more but all these are under research.
Alleviates vata and pitta doshas.
unripe kavath is useful in.
•it useful in kapha( dosha from tridosha). Means it helps in balancing the kapha.
•also useful in respiratory disorders.
•this fruit is highly antitoxic.
according to Ayurveda it has cold potency, means it is very useful to decrease the heat of body.
In Ayurvedic treatments, all parts of the wood apple plant are used to provide relief from snakebites.
this fruit is beneficial for cardiac muscles, clears the phlegm from the throat, dyspnea and thirst.
it improves taste perception.
Antioxidants present in wood apple are so powerful that they can even scavenge hydroxyl radicals and protect the body against its harmful effect.
it contains large amount of essential amino acid such as alanine, glycine, arginine and many more.
it helps in dilation of bronchii and bronchioles which is very useful for astma patient.
there are many free radicals which causes oxidative strees or damage on human body and organs( liver, kidney, etc). So, hoifh Antioxidant content of this fruit helps to reduce oxidative damage by free radical.
it increases ability of B and T lymphocytes(involved in cell - mediated immunity) and also increases the antibody. By this way it boosts immunity.
Ayurvedic use of this fruit
regular intake of this fruit or fruit juice(30ml) helps to reduce cough, plague and kapha related problems.
drinking fresh ripened juice of this fruit helps in thrist related problems.
effective against tridosha.
it shows wound healing properties.
Fresh juice of the unripe fruit of Kapittha(wood apple) is given in a dose of 15-20 ml to improve the taste, treat anorexia and improve the appetite.
Fresh juice of ripened fruit or ripened fruit is consumed to improve the body strength.
The paste of kavath (wood apple) flower is given in a dose of 5-10 g to treat rat bite poison patients.
Regulari of the fresh fruit of Kapittha is consumed regularly to improve the strength of cardiac muscles and cardiac output.
9)The juice of fruit of Feronia limonia is given in a dose of 30-50 ml to treat cough and dyspnea. It removes the phlegm from the throat.
- paste of the root of Feronia limonia is applied over the wounds for quicker healing
Refrance :
Bhojana Kutuhalam
NCBI
PUBMED
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH
- Biosaintifika journal of Biology
& Biology Education
- International journal of chemical research.