Mabolo Fruit (മബോളോ) - Velvet Apple

Mabolo Fruit (Velvet Apple) - (മബോളോ)

Mabolo (Diospyros blancoi) is a plant of the genus of ebony trees and persimmons, Diospyros. Its edible fruit has a skin covered in a fine, velvety fur which is usually reddish-brown, and soft, creamy, pink flesh, with a taste and aroma comparable to fruit cream cheese.In Philippines , it is also known as Kamagong and in Singapore, is Butter Fruit . It is commonly known as Mabolo Fruit and Velvet Apple.(Malayalam:മബോളോ , വെൽവെറ്റ് ആപ്പിൾ ) . Its native land is Philippines and it is also found in India (In Kerala) and Sri Lanka.

Cultivation

It is a dioecious tropical tree that grows well in a diversity of soil, from the sea level to the 3,800 feet above sea level. Seed trees are normally planted 35 or 45 feet from each other.It needs a good distribution of rainfall through the year. Trees that were planted by seeds could take 7 or 8 years to give out fruit, but trees that were propagated by cuttings produce fruit in 3 or 4 years. It is a very high Productive tree.The fact that fruits vary greatly - in shape, color, hairiness and taste - suggests that there is a great deal of genetic variation in the plant. Seedless cultivars exist, and are highly favored since in the normal varieties the large seeds occupy a considerable volume of the fruit.

Uses

Nutrition

• Fruit is edible.The tannin content reduces as it ripens.
• A good source of Vitamin A,C and plenty of minerals.

Wood

• Mabolo Fruit's wood is extremely dense and hard.
• Dark in color
• Used for making Furnitures and decoratives.
• Used for Making implements used for Martial arts.

Medicinal Uses

• Bark and leaves used for itchy skin ailments.
• Decoction of bark for coughs.
• Bark used for fevers, dysentery and diarrhea.
• In Southeast Asia, juice of unripe fruit used for wounds.
• Oil from seeds used for diarrhea and dysentery.
• Infusion of fruit used as gargle in aphthous stomatitis.
• In Bangladesh, juice of bark and leave used for snakebites.
• Bark and leaves used as eyewash.
• In the Guianas, used for colds, diarrhea, heart problems, hypertension, spider bites, stomach aches, diabetes, eczema. 

Constituents

• Ethyl acetate extract of air-dried leaves yielded (1) isoarborinol methyl ether, (2) a mixture of a-amyrin palmitate, a-amyrin palmitoleate, ß-amyrin palmitate and ß-amyrin palmitoleate and squalene. 
• Yields triterpenes.
• Leaf extract yielded alkaloids, reducing sugar, gum, flavonoids, and tannins. 
• Fruit is high in tannin

Distribution

• In forests, at low and medium altitudes.
• A shade tree, it is planted along roads and parks.