Soursop is a nutritious fruit belongs to Annonaceae family. It contains various imperative nutrients and significantly rich in Vitamin C and potassium that provide various health benefits. It is extensively used for decreasing the prevalence of carcinoma.

Some important information regarding soursop

• It is an oval shaped fruit
• The exterior portion of the fruit is green in colour and covered with tiny spines
• It has a creamy, white texture inside
• Unripe soursop is bitter in taste whereas ripe soursop is relatively sweeter
• Most parts of the plant like its fruit, leaves, seeds are well utilized for various medicinal purposes
• It is native to the tropical regions of America

Nutritional profile

• It contains lesser amount of carbohydrate. Carbohydrate present in soursop mostly comes from natural sugar
• It contains desirable amount of dietary fibre
• It contains lesser amount of protein as well
• It contains too some extent of fat and totally free from cholesterol
• It is packed with several essential micronutrients, which include Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, magnesium, copper and iron
• It contains various phytochemicals as well, which are responsible for exerting several nutraceutical activities

Health benefits                           

Anti-carcinogenic activity

• Soursop fruit or its extract exerts potent anti-carcinogenic activity that helps to lowers the prevalence of cancer by killing cancerous cells in body. Its root, bark and leaves also exhibit anti-carcinogenic activity
• It has seen that soursop extract plays imperative role in inhibiting the growth of breast cancer cells. It contains desirable amount of annonaceous acetogenin compounds or AGEs that show potent cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells
• It is very effective against leukemia cells as well. It helps to inhibit the growth as well as the formation of respective cancerous cells in body
• It is also very effective for decreasing the prevalence of melanoma, liver, pancreatic, lung, head, neck and colorectal cancers
• It helps to suppress the growth of tumor cells as well and helps to decrease tumor size too

Antioxidant activity

• It contain various imperative plant compounds like quercetin, luteolin and tangeretin that show strong antioxidant activities, which help to fight against free radicals. Its micronutrient components also exert antioxidant activities
• It helps to prevent cellular damages by providing them proper protection against oxidative damages thus helps to promote their functionality

• It is also associated with protecting the body from the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). It helps to prevent lipid peroxidation as well, which ultimately decreases the generation of ROS in body
• It helps to protect several important biological substances of body like proteins, lipid, nucleic acid etc from oxidation thus helps to sustain their activity as a result helps to reduce oxidative stress. Reduction in oxidative stress lessens the risk of developing various chronic diseases

Anti-inflammatory activity

• Inflammation is generally defines as the normal immune response of body to injury. Whereas chronic inflammation may develop various diseases thus it is better to delay the onset of inflammatory events in body in order to decreases the prevalence of inflammatory damages
• Consumption of soursop or its extract is considered as an effective remedial action for preventing chronic inflammation as it contains several polyphenolic components that exert anti-inflammatory activities
• It helps to prevent inflammation mainly by decreasing the concentration of inflammatory mediators in body, which are responsible for triggering inflammation
• It helps to decrease swelling as well. Its consumption is thought to be very effective for improving joint health as it helps in preventing joint swelling thus individual suffer from arthritis can include soursop in their diet for improving their symptoms

Hypoglycemic activity

• It exerts hypoglycemic effect as well thus its consumption is associated with decreasing blood sugar concentration

• Consumption of soursop with balanced diet and proper physical activity significantly improves the symptoms of diabetes mellitus especially type 2 diabetes mellitus

Antimicrobial activity

• It has powerful antibacterial activity. It helps to prevent the growth and reproduction of bacteria within host as a result reduces the susceptibility of developing infectious diseases
• It has seen that consumption of soursop extract plays significant role in destroying various bacteria, which are responsible for developing oral disorders like tooth decay, gingivitis etc
• It is also very effective against the bacteria accountable for cholera
• It helps to prevent Staphylococcus infection too

Hypotensive activity

• Elevated blood pressure is considered as a serious health issue as it is linked with increasing the risk of heart attack and various cardiac related disorders thus it is always better to maintain a healthy blood pressure level
• Consumption of soursop is extremely useful for preventing hypertension as it contains significant amount of potassium that exerts potent hypotensive activity
• Its potassium content is responsible for dilating blood vessels as a result decreases the tension in the wall of blood vessels, which ultimately helps to reduce hypertension
• Whereas excessive sodium intake is considered as one of the most leading causes of hypertension and soursop helps the body to get rid of sodium that also helps to reduce elevated blood pressure

Role on digestive health

• Its fibre component plays imperative role in promoting overall digestive health
• It is closely related with enhancing bowel movement that ultimately improves regularity. On the other hand fibre present in soursop is responsible for increasing stool mass and softness as a result helps in easy defecation and prevents constipation
• It helps to improve colonic health by promoting peristalsis and decreases the prevalence of diverticular disease and colon cancer
• It also plays significant role in improving gut health as it helps to promote the growth of intestinal beneficial microbes

Role on immunity

• It helps to provide a strong boost to the immune system
• Its antioxidant activity, micronutrient components and polyphenolic components are responsible for strengthening the defense mechanism of body as a result decreases the susceptibility of becoming ill
• It helps to promote the activity of immune cells by preventing their damages
• It is also associated with increasing the synthesis of WBC, which helps to fight against infections

Other health benefits

• It contains phytosterol that plays imperative role in decreasing the concentration of cholesterol in body thus helps to protect the body from the harmful consequences of hypercholesterolemia

• Its cholesterol lowering effect is also responsible for promoting cardiac health as it is associated with lessen the risk of plaque formation within blood vessels hence decreases the prevalence of atherosclerosis and coronary artery diseases
• It also helps to decrease the prevalence of fatty infiltration in hepatic cells thus lowers the risk of developing hepatic disorders
• It helps to improve skin health as well. Its antioxidant and micronutrient components are responsible for improving skin smoothness, elasticity and glow. It helps to prevent ageing too

General consideration of using Soursop

• At first the fruit should be cut into halves and the flesh should be scooped out
• It is better to discard seeds before consumption as they may contain toxins
• Ripe soursop can be consumed raw
• It can also be used for preparing smoothie, ice cream, syrup, juice, homemade popsicles
• It can be used as topping agent for yogurt, or oatmeal or pudding

Risk factors

Over consumption of soursop may cause movement disorders thus it is better to consume it in moderation.

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Hasmila, I., Natsir, H. and Soekamto, N.H., 2019, October. Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of soursop leaf extract (Annona muricata Linn.). In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1341, No. 3, p. 032027). IOP Publishing.

Olagunju, A.I. and Sandewa, O.E., 2018. Comparative physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of dietary soursop milkshake. Beverages, 4(2), p.38.

Orak, H.H., Bahrisefit, I.S. and Sabudak, T., 2019. Antioxidant activity of extracts of soursop (Annona muricata L.) leaves, fruit pulps, peels and seeds. Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 69(4).

SIQUEIRA, A.D.M.O., MOREIRA, A.C.C.G., Melo, E.D.A., STAMFORD, T.C.M. and STAMFORD, T.L.M., 2015. Dietary fibre content, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in soursops (Annona muricata L.). Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, 37, pp.1020-1026.

Solís-Fuentes, J.A., del Rosario Hernández-Medel, M. and del Carmen Durán-de-Bazúa, M., 2020. Soursop Seed: Soursop (Annona muricata L.) Seed, Therapeutic, and Possible Food Potential. In Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention (pp. 15-25). Academic Press.