Soursop

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree of the Annonaceae family. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya. The fruit is usually called soursop due to its slightly acidic taste when ripe. The tree is small and upright, and can grow to about 10 m tall. The fruit is oval and dark green when immature, with a prickly, leathery, inedible skin that turns yellow-green during maturity. The fruit grows to 10-35 cm long. The flesh is juicy, acidic and whitish, and mature fruit may contain as many as 200 seeds.

Origin and Production

Annona muricata is native to Mexico and Central America but is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates throughout the world. The tree is adapted to areas of high humidity and relatively warm winters, and temperatures below 5 °C damage its leaves and small branches. The main suppliers of the fruit are Mexico followed by Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Haiti.

Chemistry and Aroma

Esters are the main components of soursop aroma. In pulp analysed on a polar column, the major compounds were 24 esters (79.11%), 15 terpenes (16.55%), 10 alcohols (2.31%) and 1 aldehyde (0.11%). In the same analysis, methyl hexanoate and methyl (E)-2-hexenoate were the major organic compounds of the pulp, representing about 60% of the area. Linalool is among the principal character impact compounds of soursop pulp. Ethyl acetate and methyl butanoate may be indicators of the start of fermentation and of a loss of sensory quality in the fresh fruit. The essential oil of the fruit pulp is made up mainly of aliphatic compounds and phytosterols, with esters at 46.00% and sterols at 30.01%.

Uses

The flesh of the fruit consists of an edible white pulp, some fiber, and a core of indigestible black seeds. The pulp is made into fruit nectar, smoothies, fruit juice drinks, candies, sorbets and ice cream flavorings. Around 85% of the whole fruit is soft white pulp.

Safety

The leaves, skin, flesh and seeds of soursop contain annonacin, a compound under preliminary research for its potential neurotoxicity. There is not enough reliable medical evidence that soursop is effective for treating cancer or any disease.