The tree is more than 40 meters high, fast growing, with straight trunk and grooved, branchy, bark very Asurada, suberified and dark brown, with a wide and irregular cup.
The leaves are perennial, are arranged in spiral and are simple, obovate-oblong, finished in point, bright by the beam and pale on the underside, 15 to 20 cm long by 5 to 7 cm wide. The axillary flowers are solitary, perfumed, hairy on the outside, 6 to 8 mm in length, with six greenish petals.
The fruits are ovoid or rounded berries of brown color of 5 to 10 cm with the fleshy, aromatic and sweet endocarp , which contain some latex and five or more crushed seeds, about 2 cm long by 1.5 cm wide , bright and black.
The most universally known product of zapote is gum or chewing gum, which is a gummy polymer extracted from the resin sap of this plant, although nowadays it is usually manufactured with synthetic gums.
The harvest is done in a similar way to the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis); the resin is collected (bled) every two years in the culture specimens, then heated to 115 ° C and filtered to purify it. Previously, this rubber had been used to waterproof fabrics.
One of the main popularizers of chewing gum was Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, president of Mexico exiled in the United States, who thought it could be used as a substitute for rubber. It was an acquaintance of his, the industrialist Thomas Adams, who started marketing it at first as rubber, and failed because it had a too soft consistency. He then created the Adams New York Chewing Gum Co., and was very successful in mixing the gum with maple syrup and licorice.
With the fruit jams and syrups are made very sweet.
Healing properties
Latex contains up to 40 percent gums. The bark contains a bitter alkaloid called sapotin (0.076%), a large amount of tannins and fixed oil.
The seeds and leaves contain discrete amounts of hydrocyanic acid. The fruit contains sapotin (0.013%), sucrose, dextrose and levulose.
Remedy with zapote for diarrhea:
Boil 2 tablespoons of zapote rind, previously washed and chopped, in 1/2 liter of water for 10 minutes. Take throughout the day. This remedy is rich in tannins.
Remedy with zapote for fluid retention:
Grind 4 seeds and pour in a cup of water along with 1 tablespoon of honey. Take 1 time a day.
Remedy with zapote to vomit.
Grind 10 zapote seeds and pour into a cup of water. Take when you need to vomit.
Remedy with zapote for hypertension:
Pour 1 tablespoon of zapote leaves in a cup of water and boil for 5 minutes. Cover and let cool. Strain and take 2 times a day.
Remedy with zapote for hair growth:
Mix 3 drops of zapote seed oil and 3 of castor oil and massage, with this preparation, the scalp daily.
Remedy with zapote against hair loss:
Spray 3 powdered grains of zapote seed and mix with 10 oz of castor oil. Apply, through massage, on the scalp every day. This remedy is more effective in stopping hair loss caused by seborrheic dermatitis or seborrhea.
Remedy with zapote for scabies:
Mix, in equal parts, latex or zapote sap with Vaseline (amount necessary depending on the size of the affected area), apply and leaveRemedy with zapote for warts:
Soak a cotton ball with sap or latex from the zapote tree and leave it on. Perform this remedy, at least, once every day.
Medical uses
For medicinal purposes, this fruit tree takes advantage, mainly, fruit and bark. The properties of zapote are very popular as a remedy for Mexican medicine and phytotherapy.
One of the best known applications of white sapote is the production of essential oils, which are extracted from the seeds of the fruit and the bark of the tree. The consumption of this variety is recommended to combat the occasional insomnia and the ingestion of infusions is convenient for diabetics.
The seeds of the zapote also have a series of substances that are used for the treatment of diseases associated with blood such as leukemia . Black zapote can be very effective as a natural laxative
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