The white sapote, scientific name ''Casimiroa edulis'', also called casimiroa and Mexican apple, and known as ''cochitzapotl'' in the

Nahuatl language Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

(meaning "sleep-sapote") is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, native to eastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

south to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. The genus is named for "an Otomi Indian, Casimiro Gómez, from the town of

Cardonal Cardonal ( Otomi: ʼMohai) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and bo ...

in Hidalgo, Mexico, who fought and died in Mexico's war of independence."

Description

Mature ''C. edulis'' trees range from tall and are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are alternate, palmately compound with three to five leaflets, the leaflets 6–13 cm long and 2.5–5 cm broad with an entire margin, and the leaf petiole 10–15 cm long. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is an ovoid

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, 5–10 cm in diameter, with a thin, inedible skin turning from green to yellow when ripe, and an edible pulp, which can range in flavor from bland to banana-like to peach to pear to vanilla ''flan''. The pulp can be creamy-white in green-skin varieties or a beige-yellow in yellow-skin varieties and has a smooth texture similar to ripe

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

. It contains from one to five large inedible seeds that are said to have

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

properties.

Chemical constituents

In the past 40 years, experiments carried out on the white sapote's seeds have identified many pharmacologically active compounds, including: ''N''-methylhistamine, ''N'',''N''-dimethylhistamine, and

histamine Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses communication, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Discovered in 19 ...

. It also contains 2,5,6-trimethoxyflavone, 2, 6',5,6,-tetramethoxyflavone (

zapotin Zapotin is a natural chemical compound, classified as a flavone, isolated from white sapote (''Casimiroa edulis''). Several recent ''in vitro'' studies have shown that zapotin has potential anti-carcinogenic effects against isolated colon cancer ...

), and 5-hydroxy-2,6,7-trimethoxyflavone (zapotinin).

Health effects

Several ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' studies have shown that zapotin has potential anticarcinogenic effects against isolated

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

cells. The fruit has long been thought to produce drowsiness, as claimed by

Francisco Hernández de Toledo Francisco Hernández de Toledo (c. 1515 – 28 January 1587) was a naturalist and court physician to Philip II of Spain. He was among the first wave of Spanish Renaissance physicians practicing according to the revived principles formulated by Hipp ...

in the 16th century, but this may be a misinterpretation of the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

name of the plant, ''cochitzapotl'' (meaning '"sleep-sapote"), as its seeds were processed to produce a poison by the Aztecs, and the seeds and leaves, but not fruit pulp of the plant, contain sleep-inducing compounds.

Taxonomy

Unlike the

mamey sapote ''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is now cultivated throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as Florida and parts of South America. Its fruit ...

, white sapote is a member of the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, to which

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

belongs. The

black sapote ''Diospyros nigra'', the black sapote, is a species of persimmon. Common names include chocolate pudding fruit, black soapapple and (in Spanish) ''zapote prieto''. The tropical fruit tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. The c ...

is also unrelated and is actually a species of

persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

. This confusion may be because "sapote" comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word ''tzapotl'', used to describe all soft, sweet fruit. Commonly grown in northern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, and often mistaken for a persimmon, these two fruits are unrelated.

Description

Chemical constituents

Health effects

Taxonomy

See also

References

Further reading