Medicinal and Traditional Uses of Important Annona Fruits - Review Article

Annona fruits possesses major pharmacological activities like anti-carcinogenic, cytotoxic, antileishmanial, anti-microbial activity etc. There is a growing awareness particularly about the anti cancer properties of this plant among the people and the consumption of this fruit by the cancer-affected patients is on the increase. Such an important crop is seen only in neglected conditions in the farm boundaries and uncared lands. So, it has become necessary to survey the trees available in Tamil Nadu and document them. . Such rich diversity is posed to dangerous threats of genetic erosion due to urbanization and other developments. Currently, seven Annona species and one hybrid are grown for domestic or commercial use, mostly for the edible and nutritious fruits; several others also produce edible fruits. [ Syamsuhidayat 8] Many of the species are used in traditional medicines for the treatment of a variety of diseases, though their efficacy as a medicine has yet to be validated scientifically. Several annonacaeous species have been found to contain acetogenins, a class of natural compounds with a wide variety of biological activities. ( Zeng, et al 2008) Anona sp for edible and medicinal purposeAnnona squamosa, Annona murricata, Annona reticulate and Annona cherimoya) Abstract: