Annona squamosa

Scientific name: Annona squamosa L.

Synonym: Annona cinerea Dunal

Botanical family: ANNONACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Cuba:

anón

Martinique:

pomm kannel

Antigua and Barbuda:

sugar apple

Other vernacular names

anón
anón

Martinique:

ponm kannél, pomme-cannelle

Antigua and Barbuda:

Sugar apple

Geographical distribution

From Mexico to South America, widely cultivated in all the tropical regions.

Botanical description

Tree of up to 10 metres. Elliptic-lanceolate to oblong leaves of 6-12 cm, acute to short-acuminate, dotted. Flowers in small or solitary clusters, pale yellow, outer petals linear-oblong up to 2.5 cm, pubescent on the outside, the inner petals small ovate or obovate. Subglobose or ovoid fruit of 5-9 cm, prominent carpels, rounded on the back, white-yellowish, sweet flesh. Seeds 1-1.5 cm oblong, black.

Voucher(s)

Fuentes,4717,ROIG
Longuefosse&Nossin,2,HAVPM

liver crisis ("mal fwa")

leaf, decoction, orally¹

stomach pain

buds, decoction, orally²

colds

leaf, decoction, orally³

wind (colic)

leaf, decoction, unsweetened orally^1,3
aerial parts, decoction, sweetened orally³

For stomach pain:
prepare a decoction with 30 grams of buds in 4 cups (1 litre) of water, boil for 5 minutes in a covered vessel. Leave to cool, strain (filter) and drink 1 cup 3 or 4 times a day.

For wind and cold:
prepare a decoction with 50 fresh leaves (10 grams) or 30 grams of previously washed aerial parts, in 4 cups (1 litre) of water, boil for 10 minutes in a covered container. Leave to cool, strain (filter) and drink 1 cup 3 or 4 times a day.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for liver crises (“mal fwa”) is classified in the REC category based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the toxicity studies.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or the liver crisis persists for more than 3 days, seek medical attention.

The use for stomach pain, wind and colds is classified in the REC category based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys, the toxicity and validation studies and the scientific information published.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or the stomach pain persists for more than 3 days, seek medical attention.

Considering the possible risk of neurotoxicity, due to the presence of neurotoxic compounds present in the leaf of some species of the Annonaceae family, related to the appearance of atypical parkinsonism4, avoid prolonged use (longer than a year).

Not for use during pregnancy because it can cause miscarriage, nor while breastfeeding or in children under 12 years of age.

TRAMIL Works^26-28
The aqueous extract (50% decoction) from fresh buds (17.3 mg total solids/ml), fresh leaves (18.5 mg/ml total solids) and dried and ground aerial parts (5 mg/ml total solids) orally (2 ml/100 g body weight), single dose, in Sprague-Dawley rats (3 males, 3 females), in the acute toxicity class model with 14 day observation, did not cause mortality or other manifestations of adverse clinical signs. No organ damage was observed in the necropsy studies.

TRAMIL Work²⁹
The fluid extract (30% ethanol) from dried leaves (12.76 mg/ml total solid/ml) orally, single dose (2 ml/100 g of body weight, 255.2 mg/kg) in Wistar rats, groups of 6 animals (3 males and 3 females) in the model of acute toxicity classes observed for 14 days, did not cause death or evident signs of toxicity in the 14 days of observation, nor was there any evidence of alteration in the necropsy.

The aqueous leaf extract, in vitro, in oestrogenised rat uterus, showed strong uterotonic activity³⁰. The same leaf and stem extract stimulated uterine contraction in women, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs³¹.

With the aqueous extract (macerated, 150 g/0.5 l) from dry ground young leaves, orally (100, 500, 1000, 3000 mg/kg), in male Wistar rats (6 animals per group) for 12 days and observed for the first 2 hours with a behavioural, neurological and autonomic profile after 24 and 72 hours for lethality, no death or toxic reactions occurred during the experiment³².

The leaf juice (10 g dry weight of plant material/kg), orally in mice, did not show acute general toxicity²³.

The LD50 of the hydroalcoholic extract (50%) via the intraperitoneal route in mice of both sexes was 1 g/kg³³.

The consumption of the fruits and herbal teas of Annona muricata with a daily or weekly frequency (more than 2 years) has shown an epidemiological association with the appearance of atypical parkinsonian syndromes in humans^₃₄.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

TRAMIL Work⁵
The fresh leaf decoction (30%) and fluid extract (30% ethanol) from dry leaves showed the following secondary metabolite groups:

Secondary metabolites	decoction	fluid extract
flavonoids	-	+
phenolic compounds	+	-
triterpenes and steroids	-	-
alkaloids	-	-
quinones	-	+
coumarins and lactonic compounds	+	-
amino acids	+	+
anthocyanidins	-	+
reducing sugars	+	+

The leaf contains amino acids: β-phenylalanine, arginine, aspartic acid, 2-amino-N acid: butyric, isoleucine, methionine, proline and serine⁶; carbohydrates and derivatives: 2-carboxyarabinitol⁷, fructose, glucose and xylose⁶, 1-(4β -D-glucopyranosyloxyphenyl) -2-(β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-ethane⁸; steroids: campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol^9-11; alkaloids^12-13: (+)-O-methylarmepavine¹⁴, N-methylcoridaldine, isocorydine⁸, cystine quinolizidine⁶ and isoquinoline higenamine¹⁵; alkanes: hentriacontan-16-one, hexacosan-1-ol, octacosan-1-ol^9-11, triacontan-1-ol¹¹, tricosan-1-ol¹⁰ and flavonoids: quercetin hyperoside and rutin^16-17.

The essential oil fraction of the leaf contains: methyl benzene ester of salicylic acid¹⁸; alkaloid: methyl anthranilate¹⁸; monoterpenes: α-pinene^18-19, β-pinene, γ-terpinene, thymol¹⁸, camphene, camphor, carvone, borneol, geraniol, methyl heptenone, limonene, linalool, linalool acetate, menthone and myrcene¹⁸. The sesquiterpenes: β-caryophyllene¹⁹ and farnesol¹⁸. Other compounds such as diacetyl and phenylpropanoid, eugenol18.

TRAMIL Work²⁰
The aqueous extract (30% decoction) from fresh leaves (5 g of plant material/kg) orally in male Wistar rats (10 animals, 180-200 g), in the model of fever induced by brewer’s yeast (15% in water; 1 ml/100 g) subcutaneous and paracetamol (150 mg/kg p.o.) as reference, each animal was its own control, showed significant antipyretic activity 2 hours after administration, paracetamol presented a significant effect during the 4 h of evaluation.

TRAMIL Work²¹
The aqueous extract (30% decoction) from fresh leaves orally (0.5 and 1 g of fresh plant material/kg body weight) at single doses in male Swiss mice (20 animals/group), administered 1 hour before, the negative control received distilled water and the positive one indomethacin (10 mg/kg) under the same conditions, in the acetic acid-induced contortion model 0.75% (0.1 ml/10 g via i.p.), significantly inhibited the number of twists in a 15-minute period at 0.5 and 1 g/kg.

TRAMIL Work²²
The aqueous extract (30% decoction) from fresh leaves (0.5, 1 and 4 g of fresh plant material/kg) administered orally in male Wistar rats (10 animals/group) for 4 days, the negative control received distilled water and the positive indomethacin (5 mg/kg), under the same conditions in the cotton-induced granuloma model, significantly inhibited (dose of 1 and 4 g/kg) the inflammatory response.

The leaf juice, in vitro, isolated guinea pig ileum model, inhibited histamine-induced contractions²³.

The aqueous and ethanolic extracts from dried leaves (300 mg/kg) given orally to Wistar rats have hepatoprotective activity²⁴, and the ethanolic extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) has gastroprotective activity and ulcer healing properties²⁵.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 LONGUEFOSSE JL, NOSSIN E, 1990-95
Enquête TRAMIL. Association pour la valorisation des plantes médicinales de la Caraïbe AVPMC, Fort de France, Martinique.

2 CARBALLO A, 1990
Encuesta TRAMIL. Centro de investigación de fitoterapia y medicina tradicional de Topes de Collantes, Trinidad, Cuba.

3 O’REILLY A, 1992
TRAMIL survey. Chemistry & Food Technology Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Dunbars, Antigua & Barbuda.

4 CAPARROS-LEFEBVRE D, 2003
Atypical parkinsonism in the tropics: from Pacific to the Caribbean and evaluation of
isoquinoline derivatives toxicity. In: The 9th meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-9) abstracts book. Dresden, Germany:p19.

5 MOREJON Z, VICTORIA MC, MORON F, MENDEZ G, 2005
Tamizaje fitoquímico de la decocción de hoja fresca y extracto fluido de hoja seca de Annona squamosa L. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

6 JOSHI HD, BAXI GA, BAXI AJ, 1992
Free amino acids and sugars of Annona squamosa Linn. Asian J Chem 4(1):49-52.

7 MOORE BD, ISIDORO E, SEEMANN JR, 1993
Distribution of 2-carboxyarabinitol among plants. Phytochemistry 34(3):703-707.

8 YADAV D, SINGH N, DEV K, SHARMA R, SAHAI M, PALIT G, MAURY R, 2011
Anti-ulcer constituents of Annona squamosa twigs. Fitoterapia 82(4):666-675.

9 SHARMA RK, BEHARI M, 1992
Screening of the compounds isolated from the leaves of Annona squamosa for antibacterial activity. Acta Cienc Indica Chem 18(3):249-252.

10 SHARMA RK, 1993
Phytosterols: wide-spectrum antibacterial agents. Bioorg Chem 21(1):49-60.

11 SHARMA RK, BEHARI M, 1992
Screening of the compounds isolated from the leaves of Annona squamosa for antibacterial activity. Acta Cienc Indica 27C(3):249-252.

12 YANG HJ, LI X, ZHANG N, CHEN JW, WANG MY, 2009
Two new cytotoxic acetogenins from Annona squamosa. J of Asian Natural Products Research 11(3):250–256.

13 JOHNS T, WINDUST A, JURGENS T, MANSOR SM, 2011
Antimalarial alkaloids isolated from Annona squamosa. Phytopharmacology 1(3):49-53.

14 VILA-NOVA NS, DE MORAIS SM, FALCÃO MJ, MACHADO LK, BEVILÁQUA CM, COSTA IR, DE SOUSA BRASIL NV, DE ANDRADE JÚNIOR HF, 2011
Leishmanicidal activity and cytotoxicity of compounds from two Annonacea species cultivated in Northeastern Brazil. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 44(5):567-571.

15 WAGNER H, REITER M, FERSTL W, 1980
New drugs with cardiotonic activity. I. Chemistry and pharmacology of the cardiotonic active principle of Annona squasmosa L. Planta Med 40:77-85.

16 SEETHARAMAN TR, 1986
Flavonoids from the leaves of Annona squamosa and Polyalthia longifolia. Fitoterapia 57(3):198-199.

17 SONI H, SHARMA S, PATEL SS, MISHRA K, SINGHAI AK, 2011
Preliminary phytochemical screenig and HPLC analysis of flavonoids from methanolic extract of leaves of Annona squamosa. International Research J of Pharmacy 2(5):242-246.

18 BALBAA SI, HAGGAG MY, TAHA KF, 1977
Study of volatile oil content of the leaves of Annona squamosa growing in Egypt. Egypt J Pharm Sci 18:1-8.

19 RAI C, MUTHANA MS, 1954
Essential oil from the leaves of Annona squamosa. J Indian Inst Sci 36:117.

20 MARTINEZ I, MORON FJ, VICTORIA MdC, BRITO G, ACOSTA L, FUENTES V, 2011
Efecto antipirético oral de la decocción 30% de hojas frescas de Annona squamosa (anón) en ratas. Informe TRAMIL. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, La Habana, Cuba.

21 VICTORIA MC, MORON F, MARTINEZ MC, PINEDO Z, BOUCOURT E, MOREJON Z, FUENTES V, 2006
Actividad analgésica de la decocción de hoja fresca de Annona squamosa L. en contorciones inducidas por ácido acético en ratones. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

22 MORON F, VICTORIA MC, MARTINEZ MC, PINEDO Z, BOUCOURT E, MOREJON Z, FUENTES V, 2005
Actividad antiinflamatoria de la decocción de hoja fresca de Annona squamosa L. en ratas. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

23 PUAPATANAKUL O, 1980
Clinical studies of Annona squamosa seeds and leaves for treatment of head lice. J Pharm Ass Thailand 34(2/3):91-105.

24 MOHAMED SALEEM TS, CHRISTINA AJM, CHIDAMBARANATHAN N, RAVI V, GAUTHAMAN K, 2008
Hepatoprotective activity of Annona squamosa Linn. on experimental animal model. Int J Applied Research in Natural Products 1(3):1-7.

25 PALANISAMY A, RAJESH V, PERUMAL P, VAMSI B, 2011
Anti ulcer activity of ethanolic extract of Annona squamosa leaves. Int J of Pharmaceutical Research and Development 4(1):162–167.

26 MARTINEZ MJ, MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, BOUCOURT E, BARCELO H, LAYNEZ A, FUENTES V, MORON F, 2003
Clases Tóxicas Agudas (CTA) de decocción cogollo fresco de Annona squamosa L. en ratas. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

27 MARTINEZ MJ, MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, BOUCOURT E, BARCELO H, LAYNEZ A, FUENTES V, MORON F, 2003
Clases Tóxicas Agudas (CTA) de decocción de hoja fresca de Annona squamosa L. en ratas. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

28 MARTINEZ MJ, MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, BOUCOURT E, BARCELO H, LAYNEZ A, FUENTES V, MORON F, 2003
Clases Tóxicas Agudas (CTA) de decocción de partes aéreas secas de Annona squamosa L. en ratas. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina “Dr. Salvador Allende”, Informe TRAMIL. La Habana, Cuba.

29 MARTINEZ MJ, MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, BOUCOURT E, FUENTES V, MORON F, 2005
Clases tóxicas agudas (CTA) de extracto fluido de hoja seca de Annona squamosa L. en ratas. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

30 BARROS GSG, MATOS FJA, VIEIRA JEV, SOUSA MP, MEDEIROS MC, 1970
Pharmacological screening of some Brazilian plants. J Pharm Pharmacol 22:116.

31 MISHRA MB, TEWARI JP, MISHRA SS, 1966
Studies in indigenous uterotonic drugs (a preliminary note). Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 10:59.

32 SHIRWAIKAR A, RAJENDRAN K, DINESH KUMAR C, BODLA R, 2004
Antidiabetic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Annona squamosa in streptozotocin–nicotinamide type 2 diabetic rats. J Ethnopharmacol 91(1):171-175.

33 BHAKUNI OS, DHAR ML, DHAR MM, DHAWAN BN, MEHROTRA BN, 1969
Screening of Indian plants for biological activity. Part II. Indian J Exp Biol 7:250-262.

34 CAPARROS-LEFEBVRE D, ELBAZ A, 1999
Possible relation of atypical parkinsonism in the French West Indies with consumption of tropical plants: a case-control study. Lancet 354(9175):281-286.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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Annona squamosa

Vernacular names

Cuba:

Martinique:

Antigua and Barbuda:

Martinique:

Antigua and Barbuda:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

References

Disclaimer