My Passion with Passion by ....Michael A. Bengwayan, Ph. D.

My Passion with Passion

....Michael A. Bengwayan, Ph. D.

As we near the Christian calendar of Passion, I focus on one of my favorite fruits--passion fruit.

If you have been to my house, one of my garages is totally covered by the sour yellow passion fruit. Down where my lemons and oranges grow, I have three more varieties, including the red one.

Passion fruit by any other name is still the same. Passion fruit, a perennial woody creeper which is indigenous to the tropical regions. In the Cordillera region of the Philippines, it is locally known as "masap" or "masaplora". In other countries, it is known as passiflora, apricot vine, maracuja, Grenadilla, purple granadilla, and yellow passion fruit, with related species in fragrant granadilla, red granadilla, sweet calabash and banana passion fruit.

Why the name 'passion'? It was the Catholic missionaries in South America who gave it the name and the biblical explanations associated with the fruit. The corona threads of the passion flower were seen as a symbol of the crown of thorns, the five stamens for wounds, the five petals and five sepals as the ten apostles (excluding Judas and Peter) and the three stigmas for the nails on the cross.

Sour-sweet fruit
The passion fruit is small and round with a hard, smooth purple or yellow casing which becomes lumpy when ripened. Inside the fruit is a delicious, sour-sweet yellow pulp that contains black, edible seeds. Passion fruit is tropical, almost growing wild and is used to make refreshing beverages, desserts, confectionery, icing, sauces and ice cream.

The purple passion fruit is common in southern Brazil, making its way there from Paraguay and northern Argentina. In Hawaii, seeds of the purple passion fruit, brought from Australia, were first planted in 1880 and the vine came to be popular in home gardens. Today, the purple passion is mainly cultivated in Africa and India.

Yellow passion
The yellow passion fruit is cultivated in Peru, Brazil and Ecuador.
It is common in Jamaica where it grows easily, requiring about 35 inches of rain annually. The plant does not grow well in intense heat. The yellow form has generally larger fruit than the purple, but the pulp of the purple is less acidic, richer in aroma and flavour, and has 35-38 per cent more juice than the purple variety. The origin of the yellow passion fruit is unknown, but it is believed that it originated in the Amazon region of Brazil.

Clinging vine
The vine, especially the yellow form, is fast-growing and will begin to bear in one to three years. Passion fruit vines can be used in containerised gardens and grow well indoors, with some maintenance by regular watering to keep a vine flowering and fruiting almost continuously. If water supply is inadequate, fruits may shrivel and fall prematurely.

The vine will cling to almost anything for support and can grow up to 15-20 feet with a lifespan of five to seven years. The vine can be trained into an attractive arbour with regular pruning to keep the vines within bounds. The vines are usually shallow-rooted and should benefit from a thick layer of organic mulch. Passion fruit vines will also require regular fertilising.

Pollination of flowers
Amid the green and glossy foliage, you may find beautiful white, fragrant flowers with purple to pink crown, born at each node on the new growth.The passion fruit leaves are hairless and lobed. The flowers of the yellow form are perfect for sterilisation. Carpenter bees are the most efficient purveyors of pollination, much more so than honey bees. Wind is ineffective because of the heaviness and stickiness of the pollen. The flowers can also be hand-pollinated.

GROW YOUR OWN PASSION FRUIT
So you want to grow your passion fruit? It can be easily added to your front - or backyard garden. The next time you eat the fruit, secure the seeds for propagation. Seeds planted in beds half an inch to one inch deep soon after removing them from the fruit will germinate in 10-20 days: Seeds that are cleaned and stored will germinate a slower rate.

Seedlings may be transplanted when they are 10 inches high for the best yield. A more technical procedure is to plant cuttings of matured vines hastening rooting with hormones. Agriculturists use grafting for perpetuating hybrids and to reduce the incidence of disease.

When the fruit is ripe, it will quickly turn from green to yellow or deep purple and they can be picked when they change colour before they fall to the ground. The fruit is sweetest when slightly shrivelled.

Storage
Bag it: The fruits should be washed and gently dried in bags. They should last two to three weeks at 50F.
Freeze it: Both the fruit and the juice freeze well. For ease of use, frozen passion fruit can be retrieved and blended with citrus and many other fruit flavours.

NUTRITIVE VALUE
✓ Passion fruit is loaded with nutrients and a moderate amount of calories. Most important, passion fruit is free of fat and cholesterol.
✓ It is high in vitamin C and vitamin A, which protect the immune system and guard against cancer.
✓ It's rich in iron and its absorption is enhanced by the presence of vitamin C.
✓ High in potassium content and helps with stroke prevention.
✓ Rich in B vitamins and magnesium for healthy skin, nerves and muscles.
✓ Rich in fibre from the edible seeds.

Medicinal value
The medicinal value of passion fruit was discovered when the Spanish explored South America and found that passion fruit was used as a sedative in native folk medicine. The Spanish took the passion fruit to Europe where the leaves were used for sleep-inducing medicine.

Anti-cancer: Passion fruit is known for its richness in phytochemicals such as passaflorine, carotenoids, scopoletin, carotenoids and theobromine. Passion fruit is known for its anti-cancer effect. Researchers at the University of Florida have found that yellow passion fruit extracts can kill cancer cells in vitro. The phytochemicals which are responsible for this effect are carotenoids and polyphenols. The juice and the leaves also contain alkanoids, including harman, which is known for lowering blood pressure. It also has sedative and antispasmodic properties.

Sedative
 The passion fruit flower is a mild sedative and is sometimes used as a hallucinogen. Passion flower has been used in the treatment of nervous and easily excited children, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, menopausal problems and bronchial asthma.