It belongs to the Annonaceae family and like other fruit of the genus Annona is a syncarp formed by the coalescence of pistils and receptacles in a large pulpy structure.
Plant is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 6-8 m. Fruit are very large weighing about 1.5-3 kg each, heart shaped with dark green surface outlined in rhomboidal areas of short fleshy spines.
It was distributed very early to the warm lowlands of eastern and western Africa, Asia, and to south-east China.
Fruit are harvested when fully mature, firm, yellowish green with spines set apart. Pulp is whitish, fibrous, juicy and sub-acidic in taste with 11-14%$ sugar content.
Their flavor can be likened to musky pineapple and their aroma to that of black currants.
The edible potion of the soursop fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B and C and a fair to poor source of calcium and phosphorus.
Soursop is considered aphrodisiac and diuretic. It has been used to treat hemorrhoids, obesity, heart and kidney ailment, urethritis and in some parts of the world, leprosy and liver ailments.
The fruit is sold as fresh or frozen pulp, strained soursop juice and frozen concentrates, which have been preserved as various juice blends, ice cream, sherbets, nectars, syrups, shakes, jams, jellies, preserves, yoghurts and ice creams.
Fruit of soursop (Annona muricata L)
