JAMUN, THE Indian black plum, has an intrinsic relation with the monsoon. The seed-sized fruit, also known as Malabar plum or Syzygium cumini, waits until the arrival of the season to acquire that deep purple hue and grow sweeter and luscious. Then, with the first few showers of monsoon, it starts dropping, at times from a height of 11 m, as if to paint the surroundings and to accentuate the smell of wet earth. A remarkable aspect of jamun is that the fruit, though available only around the onset of the monsoon, contains antimicrobial compounds that can boost immunity at a time when infections, especially of the stomach, are common.
Its pulp comes loaded with vitamins and mineral nutrients, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron and zinc; water-soluble vitamins like ascorbic acid, thiamine and niacin; and even amino acids like alanine, asparagine, tyrosine, glutamine and cysteine, according to a 2014 review paper by researchers from the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
The fruit also contains flavonoids and other compounds like jambosine and jambolin that have hypoglycemic propertiesmeaning, these compounds can halt the conversion of starch into sugar. This is the reason jamun is popular among those with diabetes. Even in the Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani systems of medicine the fruit is prescribed for patients with diabetes. Since jamun is seasonal, diabetes patients also depend on the powder made from its seeds for deriving the health benefits.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 16, 2022 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 16, 2022 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.