PINEAPPLE COMOSUS (PINEAPPLE)

MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SUPPORTED -1°C

(DATA REFERS TO AN ADULT PLANT IN OPTIMAL HUMIDITY AND SOIL CONDITIONS)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The pineapple or pineapple ^[1] ( Ananas comosus ( L. ) Merr. ) it's a plant from the family from the Bromeliaceae ^[2] , native to Brazil , Bolivia , Paraguay And Cuba .

Taxonomy

The following varieties have been described: ^[2]

• Ananas comosus var. comosus
• Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Lindl.) Coppens & F. Leal
• Ananas comosus var. erectifolius (LBSm.) Coppens & F. Leal
• Ananas comosus var. microstachys (Mez) LBSm.
• Ananas comosus var. parguazensis (Camargo & LBSm.) Coppens & F.Leal

Property

Pineapple is also used in pharmacy. The active ingredient called bromelain which is an important proteolytic anti-inflammatory. ^[3]

Pineapple has a diuretic effect: it fights fluid retention and is a good digestive and has an anti-inflammatory action on soft tissues. It is used in cellulite therapies. ^{[4] [5]}

In the kitchen it is used both for the preparation of second courses, such as sweet and sour chicken, and for the preparation of desserts.

In diagnostic analyses, the juice of pineapple (taken orally) is used in radiology as contrast medium for exams cholangiography in magnetic resonance imaging instead of some expensive synthetic substances. Scientific studies published since 2004 ^[6] , verified in 2007 ^[7] and 2012 ^[8] have demonstrated the effectiveness of the juice from a medical technical point of view.

The practical experience of Policlinico Sant'Orsola in Bologna , where pineapple juice was used continuously for two years, also highlighted excellent results both from the point of view of patients and from the point of view of spending. In fact, the juice is much more pleasant than the drug that was used previously and on the subject of review of public spending it was possible to save in about 2014 € 14,000 ^[9] , keeping the expense to a few hundred euros per year for the purchase of juice.

Production

Top 10 largest pineapple producers in 2018 [10]
Village	Production ( tons )
Costa Rica	3,418,155
Philippines	2,730,985
Brazil	2,650,479
Thailand	2,113,380
Indonesia	1,805,506
India	1,706,000
Nigeria	1,664,510
China	1,573,471
Mexico	999,593
Colombia	900,395

Pineapple in the arts

To the National Roman Museum Of Rome , at the headquarters of Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, on the third floor a floor is preserved mosaic from the Roman era whose dating can be placed between 1st century BC and the 1st century AD A basket of fruit is depicted, among which stands out a figure with strong similarities to the pineapple, with the typical colour, the characteristic spike inflorescence and the scales. What is intriguing is precisely the possible presence of a fruit originating from tropical America, which arrived in Europe only after the travels of Christopher Columbus . A more plausible interpretation is that the author wanted to depict a pine cone with a tuft of pine needles. There is also talk of a species of rare African pineapple.