Chayote
Chayote
Chayote (Sechiumedule, Cucurbitaceae), a lesser-known member of the gourd family, is gaining in popularity and importance as a food crop worldwide. It is unique among cultivated cucurbits by bearing single-seeded fruits and exhibiting vivipary. Chayote, adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions, can be grown with relative ease. In addition to its fruits, it yields tender shoots for use as vegetable greens, vines as ornament for fences or as animal fodder, and edible subterranean storage roots. It is worthy of being more widely used because it has good nutritional properties and a firm delectable fruit flesh texture and can be prepared in a variety of ways for consumption.
The edible portion of chayote fruits is about 86%. The average nutritional composition of fruits per 100 g edible portion is: water 94 g, energy 80 kJ (19 kcal), protein 0.8 g, fat 0.1 g, carbohydrate 4.5 g, dietary fibre 1.7 g, Ca 17 mg, Mg 12 mg, P 18 mg, Fe 0.3 mg, Zn 0.7 mg, vitamin A 56 IU, thiamin 0.03 mg, riboflavin 0.03 mg, niacin 0.47 mg, folate 93 μg, ascorbic acid 7.7 mg (USDA, 2002). The young leaves and shoots contain per 100 g: water 90 g, energy 251 kJ (60 kcal), protein 4.0 g, fat 0.4 g, carbohydrate 4.7 g, fibre 1.2 g, Ca 58 mg, P 108 mg, Fe 2.5 mg, vitamin A 615 μg, thiamin 0.08 mg, riboflavin 0.18 mg, niacin 1.1 mg, ascorbic acid 16 mg. The tuberous roots contain per 100 g edible portion (73% of total): water 80 g, energy 331 kJ (79 kcal), protein 2.0 g, fat 0.2 g, carbohydrate 17.8 g, fibre 0.4 g, Ca 7 mg, P 34 mg, Fe 0.8 mg, thiamin 0.05 mg, riboflavin 0.03 mg, niacin 0.9 mg, ascorbic acid 19 mg (Engels, J.M.M., 1983).
Extracts of Sechium edule showed antimutagenic activity in a Salmonella typhimurium assay. The ribosome-inactivating protein sechiumin was purified from the seeds. It has been suggested that this compound could be used for the preparation of immunotoxin as a potential cancer chemotherapeutic agent. Fruit extracts exhibited hypotensive effect in
Chayote (Sechiumedule, Cucurbitaceae), a lesser-known member of the gourd family, is gaining in popularity and importance as a food crop worldwide. It is unique among cultivated cucurbits by bearing single-seeded fruits and exhibiting vivipary. Chayote, adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions, can be grown with relative ease. In addition to its fruits, it yields tender shoots for use as vegetable greens, vines as ornament for fences or as animal fodder, and edible subterranean storage roots. It is worthy of being more widely used because it has good nutritional properties and a firm delectable fruit flesh texture and can be prepared in a variety of ways for consumption.
The edible portion of chayote fruits is about 86%. The average nutritional composition of fruits per 100 g edible portion is: water 94 g, energy 80 kJ (19 kcal), protein 0.8 g, fat 0.1 g, carbohydrate 4.5 g, dietary fibre 1.7 g, Ca 17 mg, Mg 12 mg, P 18 mg, Fe 0.3 mg, Zn 0.7 mg, vitamin A 56 IU, thiamin 0.03 mg, riboflavin 0.03 mg, niacin 0.47 mg, folate 93 μg, ascorbic acid 7.7 mg (USDA, 2002). The young leaves and shoots contain per 100 g: water 90 g, energy 251 kJ (60 kcal), protein 4.0 g, fat 0.4 g, carbohydrate 4.7 g, fibre 1.2 g, Ca 58 mg, P 108 mg, Fe 2.5 mg, vitamin A 615 μg, thiamin 0.08 mg, riboflavin 0.18 mg, niacin 1.1 mg, ascorbic acid 16 mg. The tuberous roots contain per 100 g edible portion (73% of total): water 80 g, energy 331 kJ (79 kcal), protein 2.0 g, fat 0.2 g, carbohydrate 17.8 g, fibre 0.4 g, Ca 7 mg, P 34 mg, Fe 0.8 mg, thiamin 0.05 mg, riboflavin 0.03 mg, niacin 0.9 mg, ascorbic acid 19 mg (Engels, J.M.M., 1983).
Extracts of Sechium edule showed antimutagenic activity in a Salmonella typhimurium assay. The ribosome-inactivating protein sechiumin was purified from the seeds. It has been suggested that this compound could be used for the preparation of immunotoxin as a potential cancer chemotherapeutic agent. Fruit extracts exhibited hypotensive effect in