Medicinal uses of star fruit

Nowadays, many scientific studies have shown that star fruit contains many important nutrients and is a good medicine. If we compare “health to gold”, then eating star fruit means receiving gold.

Star fruit as food

The scientific name of star fruit is Averrhoa carambola L., belonging to the Oxalidaceae family, originating in Malaysia, grown in tropical and subtropical countries. Star fruit has been grown throughout our country for a long time and people have created many varieties: sour star fruit, sweet star fruit...

In addition to star fruit, in the southern provinces, people also grow star fruit cucumber (Averrhoa bilimbi L.), also of Malaysian origin. The tree is dozens of meters high, the fruit is cylindrical, 5-10cm long, yellow-green and transparent, when ripe it is very sour (oxalic acid content is 6%) so it is rarely eaten fresh. People often preserve it in syrup or pickle it, soak it in brine, fish sauce to eat.

Star fruit is less sour, has 1% oxalic acid content, and is a favorite dish of many people when ripe. People often eat star fruit raw with fish sauce or cook sour soup with shrimp and fish. Ripe fruit can be made into jam or pickled star fruit.

Choose sweet, ripe, fresh star fruit (1kg); medium-sized fruit, no worms or bruises, wash, mix with diluted salt (5%) and soak the star fruit for about 30 minutes, remove and drain, cut lengthwise, separate each segment. Pour the star fruit into a ceramic or glass bowl, sprinkle with sugar (100g) and salt (5g), mix well, marinate for about an hour. Before serving, add ground dried chili (2g) into the mixture, the pickled star fruit has a spicy and sweet taste and is used as a snack or dessert.

Sometimes people also cut star fruit into slices and dry them, saving them for when there is a lack of vegetables in storms and rains to cook sour soup or stir-fry them with meat, shrimp, and prawns to make a dish.

Star fruit as medicine

Modern science has determined that in the composition of star fruit, there are substances in g%: water 92, protein 0.6, glucid 3.1; cellulose 2.6; and in mg%: calcium 10; phosphorus 8; iron 0.9; carotene 160; vitamin B1 0.05; vitamin C 30.

Both the East and the West soon learned about the medicinal uses of star fruit, and the name of the Arab physician and philosopher Averrhoes (12th century) was used to name the star fruit tree. Averrhoes discovered that star fruit was a good medicine, mixed with pepper to induce sweating, crushed and applied to the body to relieve fatigue and exhaustion; also used to treat itching, stimulate eye activity, treat coughs, swollen glands, sore throat, rheumatism, and edema.

Most parts of the star fruit tree are used as medicine:

- The root has a sour, astringent taste, neutral properties, used as astringent, hemostatic, pain-relieving medicine to treat spermatorrhea, nosebleeds, chronic headaches, joint pain and numbness...

- The branches and leaves have a sour, astringent taste and are cool in nature. They are used as a medicine to expel wind, promote dampness, reduce swelling and relieve pain, and to treat colds caused by wind-heat, acute gastroenteritis, difficulty urinating, postpartum edema, numbness and pain from falls, boils, boils, etc.

- The flower has a sweet taste and neutral properties and is used as a heat-clearing medicine to treat alternating heat and cold...

- The fruit has a sweet and sour taste, neutral properties and is used as a medicine to relieve thirst, treat coughs caused by wind heat, sore throats, dysentery, etc.

Star fruitoften used to treat colds, fever, thirst, detoxification, diuretic.

Treatment for allergies caused by contact with paint: use star fruit cut into pieces and rub or use crushed leaves to rub. Boil star fruit leaves (can add star fruit bark) in water, drink the inside and apply it on the outside and then bathe to treat paint rash, itching, hives.

Treatment of poisoning: drink a lot of star fruit juice.

Cure urinary incontinence: use seven sour star fruit, cut each fruit and take a piece from 1/3 near the stem, pour into a cup of water, boil down to half a cup, drink while still hot; take another star fruit and a garlic bulb, also crush them, and apply to the navel.

Star fruit leaves:

Eating star fruit makes your teeth sensitive, chew a handful of star fruit leaves and it will go away.

Roasted star fruit leaves can be used to treat fever, heatstroke, and little urination.

For children with measles, use star fruit leaves (and star fruit bark) to boil and drink to promote the measles to grow evenly, and boil water to bathe to kill the measles venom after it has disappeared.

If you have a dry cough or phlegm cough, take a few bunches of star fruit flowers soaked in ginger wine and roasted to be fragrant and drink.

NoteStar fruit has a high oxalic acid content, so people with kidney disease should avoid eating star fruit too much and too often, because oxalic acid can easily cause more severe kidney stones. This acid also hinders the absorption of calcium in the body, so people with rickets, bone and joint problems, and children under five years old should limit their intake.

People with stomach pain or hunger should not eat star fruit, especially sour star fruit.

According to health and life