Author(s): Sanskruti P. Patil, Azam Z. Shaikh, Sameer R. Shaikh, Divakar R. Patil, Akash S. Jain, S. P. Pawar

Email(s): azamph46@gmail.com

DOI: 10.52711/0975-4385.2025.00010   

Address: Sanskruti P. Patil*, Azam Z. Shaikh, Sameer R. Shaikh, Divakar R. Patil, Akash S. Jain, S. P. Pawar
Department of Pharmaceutics, P.S.G.V.P. Mandal’s College of Pharmacy, Shahada, Dist Nandurbar, Maharashtra - 425409.
*Corresponding Author

Published In:   Volume - 17,      Issue - 1,     Year - 2025


ABSTRACT:
Wood apple, also known as Limonia acidissima or Feronia limonia, belongs to the family Rutaceae and is commonly referred to as elephant apple or monkey fruit due to its hard wooden shell and appeal to elephants. It is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Penang Island, and Southeast Asian countries. The fruit is oval to round, with a greyish-white shell, brown pulp, white seeds, and a sweet-tangy taste. All parts of the wood apple tree, including leaves, bark, roots, and fruit pulp, are used in traditional medicine for treating various ailments such as snake bites, liver and cardiac conditions, diarrhoea, dysentery, sore throat, gum diseases, and asthma. It exhibits anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties and is used as a refrigerant, stimulant, astringent, diuretic, cardio tonic, and tonic for liver and lungs. Ayurveda suggests wood apple for ear pain and irritation, and its mature fruit helps prevent gum and teeth problems. Research indicates wood apple fruit extract can reduce lipid profiles, increase hepatic glycogen and HDL levels, and inhibit several microbial strains. It also shows anti-cancer properties against various cancer cells. The fruit is rich in phytoconstituents like vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, fiber, protein, iron, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber, contributing to its nutritional and medicinal value.


Cite this article:
Sanskruti P. Patil, Azam Z. Shaikh, Sameer R. Shaikh, Divakar R. Patil, Akash S. Jain, S. P. Pawar. A Review on Wood Apple Pharmaceutical Application. Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 2025; 17(1):56-4. doi: 10.52711/0975-4385.2025.00010

Cite(Electronic):
Sanskruti P. Patil, Azam Z. Shaikh, Sameer R. Shaikh, Divakar R. Patil, Akash S. Jain, S. P. Pawar. A Review on Wood Apple Pharmaceutical Application. Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 2025; 17(1):56-4. doi: 10.52711/0975-4385.2025.00010   Available on: https://rjpponline.org/AbstractView.aspx?PID=2025-17-1-10


REFERENCES:
1.    S. Pandey, G. Satpathy, R.K. Gupta. Evaluation of nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of exotic fruit Limonia acidissima. J. Pharmacogn. Phytochem. 2014; 3.
2.    S. Murakonda, G. Patel, M. Dwivedi. Characterization of engineering properties and modeling mass and fruit fraction of wood apple (Limonia acidissima) fruit for post-harvest processing, Journal of the Saudi society of Agricultural Sciences. 2022; 21(4) : 267-277
3.    Tripti Y, Deepak V, Shweta S, Soumitra T, Sindu. Wood apple- its nutritive value and medicinal benefits. International Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2018; 11:159-163
4.    Morton J. Roselle. In: Fruits of Warm Climate, Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL. 1987; 281-286
5.    Yusuf S, Zucker D, Peduzzi P, Fisher LD, Takaro T, Kennedy JW, Davis K, Killip T, Passamani E, Norris R. Effect of coronary artery bypass graft surgery on survival. Lancet. 199419; 344(8934): 1446.
6.    Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. An ICS. Indian Medicinal Plants. Orient Enterprises, Dehradun, India. 1993; 1:496-498.
7.    Jadeja BA, Odedra NK, Danger NR, Baxi US. Ethno medicinal plants used by the people of Saurashtra to cure diarrhoea. Plant Archives. 2005; 5:381-392
8.    N. Thakur, V. Chugh, S. Dwivedi, wood apple: an underutilized miracle fruit of an India, Pharm. Innov. 2020; 9: 198-202
9.    S.K. Sonawane, A.N. Bhagwat, S.S. Arya. Limonia acidissima and Citrusllus lanatus fruit seed: antimicrobial, thermal, structural, functional, and protein identification study, Food Biosci. 2018; 26: 8-14
10.    G. Parvez, R.K. Sarke. Pharmacological potential of wood apple (Limonia acidissima): a Review. IJMFM and AP. 2021; 7(2): 40-47
11.    S.K. Sonawane, S.S. Arya. Bioactive L. acidissima protein hydrolysates using Box-Behnken design, 3. Biotech. 2017; 7: 1-11
12.    S.N.N. Ko, H.H. Naing. Nutritional compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of exotic fruits limonia acidissima. 3rd Myanmar Korea Conference Research Journal. 2020; 3(3).
13.    H.N. Murty, D. Dalawai. Bioactive compound of wood apple (L.), in: Bioactive compounds in Underutilized Fruits and Nuts. 2020; 543-569
14.    Plant Profile, Chapter 3, University Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, pp. 21-24
15.    Gunasekaran, S., and Balasubramanian, N. Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Limonia acidissima L. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research. 2012; 13(2): 16-22.
16.    Rekha, M. R., and Vijayalakshmi, N. R. Biochemical changes in wood apple (Feronia limonia) fruits during growth and ripening. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2011; 48(2): 168-172.
17.    Dharmaraj, U., and Urooj, A. In vitro antioxidant activity of phenolic constituents from selected dried fruits and their effect on DNA sugar damage and LDL oxidation. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2009; 46(6): 519-524.
18.    Dutta, A., and Das, S. Phytochemical constituents of Limonia acidissima. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 2013; 2(2): 113-117.
19.    Elumalai, A., and Chinna Eswariah, M. Phytochemical investigation and study of anti-inflammatory activity of Limonia acidissima Linn. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research. 2012; 5(3): 123-126.
20.    A. Mani, V. Kuchi, S. Mitra, F. Bauri, S. Das. Identification and conservation of elite wood apple (Feronia limonia L.)  genotypes from West Bengal, Adv. Bio. Res. 2020; 11:75-80
21.    Khan MA, Singh K, Patel KK and Siddiqui M. Some Physical Properties of Wood Apple (Feronia Limonia L.). Recent Adv Food Sci Nutr Res. 2019: 79-86.
22.     Khan MA, Ashraf M, Singh K, Patel KK, Siddiqui M (2019a) Effect of Storage on Quality Parameters of Wood Apple (Feronia Limonia L.)-Lemon (Citrus Limon) Squash ", Research Journal of Food and Nutrition. 3(1): 18-27.
23.    S. P. Chakrabarti. Traditional knowledge on wood apple (Limonia acidissima): collection, cultivation, and pharmacological potential. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research.  2013; 7(120: 856-861.
24.    P. H. Trivedi and A. K. Sharma. Harvesting and post-harvest management of wood apple in Southeast Asia. Agricultural Reviews. 2014; 35(20: 118-122.
25.    S. Sujitha, P. Venkatalakshmi. Insights into the invitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of Limonia acidissima fruits. Int. J. Life Sci.Pharma Res. 2021; 11(3): L1–L1.
26.    M.S. Shah, S.M. Kamble, A.R. Shinde, D.R. Jagtap. Novel utilization and Phytopharmacological review of multipotential traditional plant Limonia acidissima. 2020; 7(9).
27.    N. Ilaiyaraja, K.R. Likhith, G.S. Babu, F. Khanum. Optimization of extraction of bioactive compounds from Feronia limonia (wood apple) fruit using response surface methodology (RSM). Food Chem. 2015; 173: 348–354.
28.     H.N. Murthy, K.Y. Paek. Bioactive Compounds in Underutilized Vegetables and Legumes, Springer International Publishing. 2021.
29.    R. Gupta, S. Johri, A.M. Saxena. Effect of ethanolic extract of Feronia elephantum Correa fruits on blood glucose levels in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.  2009; 8(1): 32–36.
30.    A. Mishra, G.P. Garg.  Antidiabetic activity of fruit pulp of Feronia elephantum. CorrPhcog. J. 2011;3(20): 27-32.
31.    K Ilango and V Chitra. Wound Healing and Anti-oxidant Activities of the Fruit Pulp of Limonia Acidissima Linn (Rutaceae) in Rats. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2010; 9(3): 223-230
32.    Mishra, A., Arora, S., Gupta, R., Manvi, P.R.K. and Sharma, A.K. Effect of Feronia elephantum (Corr) fruit pulp extract on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in albino rats. Trop. J. Pharm. Res. 2009; 8: 509-514.
33.    Aneesha, A., Rao, R.N., Tejaswini, S.N., Durga, L.S.A., Haseena, S.K. and Maneesha, B. Phytochemical studies and anti-ulcer activity of Limonia acidissima linn. leaf in treating ethanol induced ulcer Albino rats. Indian J. Res. Pharm. Biotec. 2018; 6(3): 104-110.
34.    Anacletus, F.C., Nwauche, K.T. and Ugwu, G.M. Hepatoprotective and nephroprotective potentials of aqueous leaves extract of Limonia acidissima in phenylhydrazine- induced anaemic wistar Rats. Asian J. Pharma. Res. Develop. 2019; 7(1): 27-33.
35.    G. Kishor Naidu, B. Sujatha, K. Chandra Sekhar Naidu. In vitro Antibacterial Activity Analysis of Leaves of Limonia acidissima, Notulae Scientia Biologicae. 2014; 155-157
36.    Asha Thomas and N. R. Ponnammal, Preliminary studies on Phytochemical and antibacterial activity of Limonia acidissima L. Plant Parts. Ancient Science of Life. 2005: 57-61
37.    Shipra Pandey, Gouri Satpathy, Rajinder K. Gupta. Evaluation of nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of exotic fruit Limonia acidissima. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 2014: 81-88
38.    Rupal, A., Amaravadi, V.R.L. and Narasimhacharya. Limonia fruit as a food supplement to regulate fluoride-induced hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidaemia. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2013; 93(2): 422-426. doi: 10.1002/ jsfa.5762.
39.    Singh, P., Gupta, N., and Sharma, R. Analgesic and antipyretic activities of Limonia acidissima fruit extract in experimental models. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2020; 248: 112352.
40.    Sharma, S., Verma, A., and Singh, A. Pharmacological evaluation of Limonia acidissima leaf extract for its analgesic and antipyretic properties. Phytotherapy Research. 2019; 33(11): 2901-2910.
41.    Behera, J.P., Mohanty, B., Ramani, Y.R., Rath, B., Pradhan, S. Effect of aqueous extract of Aegle marmelos unripe fruit on inflammatory bowel disease. Indian Journal of Pharmacology. 2012; 44: 614–618.

Recomonded Articles:

Author(s): Anshuman Singh, Bhupendra Vyas

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2018.00052.3         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Bapu R. Thorat

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2018.00017.1         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Kavitha M, Vadivu R, Radha R

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2015.00037.0         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Punita R. Maurya, Swati R. Dhande, Yadunath M. Joshi, Vilasrao J. Kadam

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Praveen S Nayak, Shweta Nayak, Ranjan Shety, P Das

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Kalpana Patil, Swati Dhande, Vilasrao Kadam

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Raje VN, Yadav AV, Shelar PA

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Vidula Salvi, Yadunath Joshi, Swati Dhande , Vilasrao Kadam

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Debjit Bhowmik, Chiranjib, Pankaj, KK Tripathi, MR Chandira, KP Sampath Kumar

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Soosamma John, Madhavi T., Bincy Raj, Jincy Shaji, Vinutha

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Puneet Kumar Rai, Dev Raj Sharma, Amit Sharma

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2015.00029.1         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Mohd Asif, Mohd Wasim Ahmed, Shahidul Khair, Murugeswaran R, Rampratap Meena, Mokhtar Alam, Shoeb Ahmed Ansari, Mohd Tariq, Rakesh Kumar Negi

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2019.00035.9         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): AK Meena, Uttam S Niranjan, AK Yadav, Brijendra Singh, AK Nagaria, A Gaurav, MM Rao

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Mamta Tiwari, Pushpraj S. Gupta, Nisha Sharma

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2018.00014.6         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): K Mekala, R Radha

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2015.00035.7         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Dheepa Anand, Chandrasekar R, Sivagami B

DOI: 10.52711/0975-4385.2021.00015         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Chandrakant P. Rathod, Mahavir H. Ghante

DOI: 10.52711/0975-4385.2021.00022         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Shantha Sheela Nagarajan, Muthusamy Periyanna, Radha Ramalingam

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2015.00036.9         Access: Open Access Read More

Author(s): Shirisha K, Priyanka B, Habibur Rahman, Dipankar Bardalai, Fulchan Ali

DOI:         Access: Open Access Read More


Recent Articles




Tags