Pomelo

The pomelo, also known as pummelo and pamplemousse, scientific name Citrus maxima, is a plant belonging to the Rutaceae family. This plant is becoming very popular thanks to its fruits, considered the most ancient citrus fruits cultivated by men. The fruits of pomelo are characterized by a smooth and green peel and by a flesh with a color ranging from yellow to red. These fruits have been considered since ancient times a remedy to stimulate the appetite, to protect and improve the functionality of stomach and heart, to counteract the toxins in blood. As often happens, tradition just anticipates science that is now becoming really interested to pomelo because of its powerful antioxidant properties given by some substances such as hesperidin and neohesperidin (Caengprasath et al, Excli J, Jun 2013). Moreover, pomelo results also useful to prevent or sooth possible side effects caused by diabetes. In particular, the extracts of this fruit seem to be able to inhibit a process, called glycation, that in case of diabetes or high levels of sugar in blood may become uncontrolled (Caengprasath et al, Excli J, Jun 2013). Glycation is a reaction where a sugar reacts with a protein by compromising its functionality. Proteins are necessary for several life processes and, if damaged, they don’t complete their task and, in addition to this, are toxic and pro inflammatory for the body. But pomelo is also a rich source of vitamins such as A, useful for the health of skin, hair but especially eyesight, group B, for the nervous system, C, able to support the immune system, and E, a powerful antioxidant, and mineral salts such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, zinc and sodium (Sharma et al, Eur J Clin Nutr, Jan 2018 - USDA Database). For what concerns the purchase, you can find the pomelo in specialized shops or that sell Asian products. Just consider one thing, pomelo is a very big fruit and may be able to reach the size of a melon, however, the flesh has the size of an orange because between peel and flesh there is a soft and white part, very thick, the albedo, that isn’t edible. In alternative, you can find the dry fruit. Finally, a recommendation. If you are taking medicines, ask your doctor for advice before eating pomelo in order to avoid interactions. At the moment, interactions between pomelo and anti-rejection drugs and medicines with sildenafil are reported (Chen et al, Journal of Food and drug analysis, Apr 2018).