This tropical fruit has many names and just as many nutrients. It contains powerful antioxidants, it tastes delicious, and it may speed up the metabolism. Read on to find out whether you should add passion fruit to your diet.<\/p>\n
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Passion fruit is a purple or yellow tropical fruit that grows on the vine of several members of the Passiflora<\/i> genus, most notably Passiflora edulis<\/i>. Besides \u201cpassion fruit,\u201d it has many names, including maracuya <\/i><\/b>in Spanish, <\/b>maracuja <\/i><\/b>in Portuguese, and <\/b>lilikoi <\/i><\/b>or <\/b>liliko\u2019i <\/i><\/b>in Hawaiian<\/b> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruits have a tart<\/b>, almost sour flavor.<\/b> Unsurprisingly, the fruits get sweeter and less tart the riper they are [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruit has a handful of uses in traditional medicine. Among the Kalenjin people of Kenya, pregnant women eat passion fruit in the believe that it will increase their blood volume, help with appetite and digestion, and improve the skin of the baby after birth. In South America, passion fruit is a traditional tonic for a<\/b>nxiety<\/a>, insomnia, asthma, bronchitis, and urinary tract infection [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n The edible part of the passion fruit is the juicy, pulpy interior. Somewhat like a pomegranate<\/a>, passion fruit has many seeds, each surrounded by a casing of sweet flesh. Passion fruit seeds are edible and contain a powerful antioxidant called piceatannol [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruit is healthy, nutritious, and delicious.<\/p>\n The most important varieties of passion fruit are the purple (Passiflora edulis <\/i>f. edulis<\/i>) and yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis <\/i>f. flavicarpa<\/i>) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Of these, the yellow passion fruit is larger, hardier, and more often used for juice production, but the purple passion fruit is sweeter and more aromatic.<\/b> They are both round fruits with thick skins; they contain many seeds encased in sweet flesh [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n A third type of passion fruit, the so-called banana passion fruit<\/b>, is long (shaped like a banana or a zucchini) whereas the classic yellow and purple passion fruits are round. Banana passion fruits are actually the fruits of multiple closely related species (including Passiflora tarminiana <\/i>and Passiflora mollissima<\/i>) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 100 g of purple passion fruit has 97 calories<\/b>, 11.2 g of total sugars and 10<\/b>.4 g of dietary fiber<\/b>. Purple, yellow, and banana passion fruits also contain significant amounts of [R<\/a>, R<\/a>]:<\/p>\n The mineral content of \u00a0passion flower<\/a>, which produces the fruit, varies based on the mineral content of the soil it grows in. One study found significantly higher calcium<\/a> and magnesium levels in fruits fertilized with cattle manure as opposed to a synthetic mineral fertilizer [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruit rind and peel have been studied as a potential source of dietary fibers<\/b> that can be used to enrich other foods. Passion fruit peel can be milled into a flour that contains between 25% and 37% soluble fiber [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n The flavonoids found in passion fruit and banana passion fruit <\/b>include:<\/p>\n These antioxidant phenolics are also abundant in cranberries; they are thought to be the reason why cranberries are good for preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n In one review of 24 exotic fruits, banana passion fruits<\/b> were found to have the most antioxidant activity<\/b> and the highest concentration of phenolic compounds [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruits contain significant amounts of alpha and beta carotene<\/b><\/a> in both the pulp and peel. Your body uses dietary beta carotene to make vitamin A<\/a>, an essential nutrient [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Purple passion fruit peel and seeds <\/b>contain considerably more anthocyanins than those of other varieties. Anthocyanins improve the health of many organs and systems, including the heart, brain, eyes, and liver. They may also delay diabetes and reduce inflammation [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruit seeds and seed extract<\/b> are rich in an antioxidant stilbenoid called piceatannol. Similar to resveratrol<\/a>, piceatannol improves insulin sensitivity<\/a> and may reduce blood pressure and heart rate<\/a> [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Passion fruit is also a significant source of bioactive amines <\/b>(like spermine and spermidine), which scavenge free radicals and reduce oxidative stress<\/a> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\nVarieties<\/span><\/h3>\n
Snapshot of Passion Fruit<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Passion Flower Nutrition Facts<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Active Compounds<\/span><\/h2>\n
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