Passion fruit peel, banana may ease breathing problems in asthmatics

Plantain, banana and some other
plants can be used to cure many
diseases Asthma is a dangerous respiratory problem affecting millions of people all over the world. If not properly managed, it can also lead to premature death. Sade Oguntola, in this report, highlights some remedies to this breathing problem, especially using passion flower and banana.

The benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, carrots, bananas and apple to lessen symptoms and even prevent allergic diseases such as asthma had received another support with a new study suggesting that a flavonoid-rich extract from purple passion fruit may ease wheezing among the asthmatics.

In the trial, 42 asthmatics with an average age of 36.1 were randomly assigned to receive a daily passion fruit peel extract (150 mg per day) or placebo for four weeks.

At the end of the study, the researchers report that wheezing, a asthma symptom, was “moderately” affected. Specifically, they noted, “the prevalence of wheeze, cough, as well as shortness of breath was reduced significantly in group treated with PFP extract, whereas the placebo caused no significant improvement.”

Coughing was reduced by 76.2 per cent, wheezing by 80.9 per cent, while the number of people experiencing shortness of breath was reduced from 90 per cent at the start of the study to only 10 per cent at the end, following four weeks of the passion fruit peel extract supplements.

The researchers led by Ronald Ross Watson from Southwest Scientific Editing and Consulting, and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health in Tucson, Arizona, based on their finding indicated that the PFP extract may be a valuable supplement in the management of chronic asthma.

They suggested in the findings published in the journal Nutrition Research that the effect of the passion fruit on wheezing and other symptoms of asthma could have being due to the antioxidants in the peel extract, noting that many studies have reported a link between “oxidative stress, bronchial inflammation, the development of asthmatic symptoms, and reduction of cellular functions”.

Meanwhile, they explained that another reason the extract ameliorated asthmatic symptoms could be that it contains flavonoids that are involved in reducing allergy and inflammation.

Many patients are not able to tolerate the currently available anti-asthmatic medications. But with the results of the study demonstrating the clinical benefit of daily oral administration of PFP in adults with persistent asthma as safe use, the researchers believed eventually a natural dietary supplement with low or no toxicity would be an attractive candidate for further development.

In addition, the juice mainly from the leaves of passion fruit contain the alkaloids, including Harman, which has blood pressure lowering sedative and antispasmodic action, thus accounting for its medicinal use in several countries. The flower of passion fruit has a mild sedative and can help to induce sleep. Passion flower has been used in the treatment of nervous and easily excited children, bronchial asthma, insomnia, nervous and menopausal problems.

A study by Watson and his co-workers showed that the consumption of purple passion fruit peel extract could reduce asthma symptoms. They selected 42 patients who received an oral administration of purple passion fruit extract. The passion fruit extract supplementation reduced the wheezing by 75 per cent and increased forced vital capacity.

Past assessments of other fruits like apple juice and bananas preventing asthma in children equally have it that a healthy diet rich in these fruits rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins is good for asthma.

Researchers, led by Peter Burnley from the National Heart Group and Lung Institute at Imperial College, performed a population-based survey of 2,640 children aged between five and 10 and found that regular consumption of, at least, a glass of apple juice concentrate was associated with a 47 per cent reduction in wheezing.

“We found no association between eating fresh apples and asthma symptoms in this population, but found some evidence to suggest that a higher consumption of apple juice from concentrate, and bananas, may protect against wheezing in children,” wrote the authors in the2007 edition of the European Respiratory Journal.

A previous study by Satomi Yano in the 2006 edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that assessed these fruits and vegetables that protect against asthma said they contain Apigenin, a plant flavonoid found to suppress the levels of an immune system antibody linked to asthma and other allergies when fed to mice.

Apigenin is present in a variety of foods including apples, beans, broccoli, celery, cherries, grapes, leeks, onions, parsley and tomatoes, as well as plant-derived beverages like tea and wine.

Such a diet rich in vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and leafy vegetables, could reduce the risk of adult asthma by about 20 per cent, a separate study from the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Mexico, also, reported. The 68,535 women that took part in the French branch of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) ate a diet high in fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and leafy vegetables considerably reduced their risk of asthma.

After 11 years of follow-up, the researchers in the journal Thorax said they found that women who consumed more than 90 grams per day of leafy vegetables had a 22 per cent lower risk of asthma than those who ate less than 40 grammes per day. Similar risk reductions were seen for tomatoes (20 per cent) and carrots (18 per cent).

In addition, researchers from University of Tasmania and Monash University in Melbourne said children that drink milk and take pears are less likely to develop asthma. Apples and pears also protect against current asthma, with reduced risk ratio of 0.83.

Whole milk was associated with a 34 per cent lower risk of current asthma, and reduced the likelihood of doctor-diagnosed asthma and atopy by almost 30 per cent, reported the researchers in this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.