Grapefruit
Categories: Citrus | Fruit | Barbados
| Grapefruit | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image:Grapefruit 700x490.jpg A basket of grapefruit | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Citrus × paradisi Macfad. |
This article is about the citrus fruit. For the Sixties pop band, see Grapefruit (band)
The grapefruit is a sub-tropical citrus tree grown for its fruit, which are also known as grapefruit.
The evergreen tree is usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although it can reach 13-15 m. The leaves are dark green, long (up to 15 cm) and thin. It produces 5 cm white four-petalled flowers. The fruit is yellow-skinned, largely oblate and ranges in diameter from 10-15 cm and has an acidic yellow segmented pulp. The numerous cultivars include the white grapefruit and the red, of which the 1929 US Ruby Red (of the Redblush variety) has a patent. The fruit has only become popular from the late 19th century, before that it was only grown as an ornamental plant. The US quickly became a major producer of the fruit, with orchards in Florida and Texas. In Spanish the fruit is known as toronja or pomelo.
The fruit was discovered in the 1750s, probably in Barbados; currently the grapefruit is said to be one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados" [1]. It had developed as a hybrid of the pomelo (Citrus maxima) with the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), though it is rather closer to the first than the second. Further crosses have produced the tangelo (1905), the minneola (1931) and the sweetie (1984).
The grapefruit was known as the shaddock until the 1800s. Its current name alludes to clusters of the fruit on the tree. Botannically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1950s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi.
Grapefruit can have a number of interactions with drugs, often increasing the effective potency of compounds. Grapefruit contains naringenin and bergamottin, which inhibit the cytochrome P450 isoform CYP3A4 in the liver. It is via inhibition of this enzyme that grapefruit increases the effects of simvastatin, terfenadine, felodipine, nifedipine, verapamil, estradiol, midazolam, tacrolimus, dextromethorphan (significant only at recreational doses), benzodiazepines and cyclosporine A. Grapefruit seed extract is a strong antimicrobial with proven activity against bacteria and fungi. It also has antioxidant properties.
Grapefruit forms a core part of the "grapefruit diet", the theory being that the fruit's low glycemic index is able to help the body's metabolism burn fat.
External links
- Grapefruit from "Fruits of warm climates" by Julia F. Morton
- World's Northernmost Fruiting Grapefruit? in the Chelsea Physic Garden, london.
- Heggers JP et al., The effectiveness of processed grapefruit-seed extract as an antibacterial agent: II. Mechanism of action and in vitro toxicity. abstract
- Grapefruit Diet- Overview, permitted foods, diet plan, advantages and disadvantages.da:Grapefrugt (Citrus x paradisi)
de:Grapefruit es:Toronja fr:Pomelo hu:Grapefruit ja:グレープフルーツ nl:Grapefruit pl:Grejpfrut pt:Toronja simple:Grapefruit sr:Грејпфрут