Hog plums known as June plums, Yellow Mombin or Monkey Mombin are a juicy fruit of hog plum tree found in tropical countries and come in diverse colors.
There are many essential vitamins and nutrients present in hog plums that help fight against some free radicals that might be harmful to human health. Some of the nutritional benefits of these fruits include the following:
- Good for Digestive Health
Hog plums are rich in dietary fiber, which plays a key role in maintaining a healthy digestive system.
The fiber content helps in improving the general functions of digestive health. It also prevents any form of issues that could arise due to poor digestion and other digestive health conditions like bloating and gas.
- Improves Haemoglobin Production
It is a good source of minerals such as iron, which helps produce hemoglobin and myoglobin, which transfer oxygen throughout the body systems.
While the iron content in the fruits helps improve the Haemoglobin, which is the iron and oxygen-binding proteins located in the blood, it also helps improve the iron and oxygen-binding proteins in the muscles known as the muscles Myoglobin.
Iron is a vital micronutrient essential to the body and functions great in preventing anemia and other blood conditions.
- Contain a High Amount of Vitamin C
Contain a good quantity of vitamin C, which is important for overall health and body function, such as maintaining and repairing bones and teeth and healing several ailments.
Vitamin C is one of the antioxidants found in fruits and acts naturally as an agent that inhibits harmful oxidation processes by free radicals in the body, which could damage the body’s vital organs and cells.
Vitamin C also helps improve the production of collagen, a protein found on the skin that functions to make the skin healthy, firm, and free against wrinkles.
- Enhances Bone Health
It is a fat-free, sodium-free, cholesterol-free fruit and a good source of vitamin K that helps in proper bone health.
The vitamin K does not only helps in blood clotting, but it also helps to improve the bones by making them strong, thereby helping in the prevention of bones health conditions like bone fractures, etc.; its effects on osteoporosis has not been proven medically, though most people take it for this cause.
Research also indicates that hog plums contain copper that maintains the bone and other connective tissues in the body system and is also needed to assimilate vitamin C properly.
- Rich in Antioxidants
Hog plums contain good vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical properties that perform oxidation functions in the body system.
Its rich content of antioxidants helps reduce the effects of oxidative stress caused by free radicals in the body, leading to damage of the body’s vital organs.
- Promotes Muscle Strength
Thiamine is one of the vitamins which could be found in hog plum, and it has a lot of functions it performs in the body, with one of them being its ability to help in muscle contraction and conduction of nerve signals.
Its deficiency can lead to many symptoms such as muscle weakness which could even lead to confusion. Adequate intake of this fruit can help eliminate the chances of this condition.
- Serves as Diuretic and Febrifuge
The intake of hog plum fruits or their juice is medicinal and can treat so many health conditions.
It helps the body to effectively and adequately remove fluids (water) from the body through urine, which is to say that it helps in reducing the amount of salt (sodium) in the body, thereby decreasing the risk of high blood pressure.
It also acts as a febrifuge, in the sense that it can serve as a substitute for fever medications, as it can help in the reduction and treatment of fever/malaria, which has been used locally in many tropical areas due to its properties like flavonoids, anthraquinones, sesquiterpenes, quinoline and more.
Nutritional Values of Yellow Hog Plum
Hog plum has a lot of nutritional contents, which includes sodium, calcium, magnesium, and much more, as can be seen below;
| Components | Values |
| Carbohydrates | 13.80g |
| Fats | 0.62g |
| Protein | 1.06g |
| Ash | 0.75 |
| Moisture | 83.6g |
| Energy | 65.4g |
| Dietary Fibre | 1.87g |
| Sodium | 5.5mg |
| Iron | 0.33mg |
| Potassium | 287mg |
| Phosphorous | 32.7mg |
| Manganese | 0.03mg |
| Magnesium | 15mg |
| Calcium | 11mg |
| Copper | 0.12mg |
| Lutein | 634μg |
| β-carotene | 314μg |
| α-carotene | 340μg |
| Zeinoxanthin | 550μg |
| β-criptoxanthin | 1700μg |
Where is Hog Plum Grown
Hog plums are native to Central America and are commonly found in Brazil, Peru, Grenada, and places in the Caribbean in a wide variety.
It is found in Western Africa, mainly in Nigeria, called Iyeye or ebo in Yoruba land. In Igbo, the fruit is called ngugulu and the Ijikara (tree). It is also called Isada in Hausa but scientifically called Spondias mombin.
Hog Plum Varieties
They mostly grow in the bush through seed dispersion, meaning that humans and the fruits rarely cultivate them are best enjoyed when ripped, and color turned yellow or orange.
It comes in various color ranges depending on the climate and weather conditions. In Nigeria, the color of the hog plum is orange/yellow; in other countries, its color can range from green to orange, purple, and red, and may have a similar appearance with mango depending on the varieties grown.
Hog Plum Juice
The juice of the fruit is said to have a cooling effect that can normalize and control high body temperature and helps in alleviating many health conditions as it provides the body with lots of nutrients and health benefits.
Is it Good to Eat Hog Plum during Pregnancy?
Eating hog plum while pregnant is generally considered safe, provided it is eaten in moderate conditions. It contains lots of nutrients that every pregnant woman needs to keep healthy, and it also helps alleviate constipation and its symptoms.
Hog Plum also helps in reducing cravings for food due to its fiber content and lots more.
Medicinal Benefits
Hog plums have many beneficial properties, including the fact that it is locally used to cure and alleviate many illnesses. In this case, the hog plum fruits and juice, leaves, bark, and even the roots serve this medicinal purpose.
The leaves serve as antiseptics as they are also used in making antiseptic soaps, treating sore throat, cough, malaria, and other related sickness; the barks, the juice, and the fruit, in general, have therapeutic benefits that make them useful to traditional herbalists for alternative medicines.
Its treatment for many health conditions has been effective though not scientifically proven. It has been used in many parts of Africa where it is grown to alleviate many health conditions like pain, cough, indigestion, inflammation, fever, convulsions, and lots more.
In Mexico, the fruits, juice, or leaves are also used to eliminate calcium salts from the body, resulting in calcification. It is also used for treating wounds as it makes them heal faster, especially when in a powdered form.
The Hog plum tree is considered medicinal as it consists of many antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, anti-inflammatories, and more.
Downside
There are no proven side effects of these fruits, but just like any other fruits, they shouldn’t be eaten in excess not to aggravate symptoms of an already existing health condition.
Summary
The health benefits of hog plum cannot be overemphasized. Its fruits, juice, and the hog plum tree all significantly benefit health and general well-being.
It effectively treats many health conditions like fibroid, dizziness, and several others and contains an amount of protein and fat that the body needs in a minimal index.