Common names
- Abas
- Bayawas
- Djamboe
- Enandi
- Guava Tree
- Kuawa
- Petokal
- Tokal
Uses
It is believed that the guava (Psidium guajava L) is likely to have been naturalized in Peru quite a few thousand years back. In fact, archeological sites in Peru have exposed that the ancient people in the region stored guava seeds along with corn, beans, squash and other plants cultivated by them. It may be mentioned here that even now the natives living in the tropical rainforests relish the guava fruit as a sweet delicacy. Since long, the leaves as well as the bark of the guava tree have been known to be used for treating various disorders and are still used in the same manner in contemporary times.
The Tikuna Indian prepares a decoction with the leaves and barks of the guava tree to treat diarrhea. In effect, several tribes inhabiting the Amazon rain forest region have been using decoctions and/ or infusions prepared with the guava leaves and barks to cure diarrhea and dysentery for ages. Even the Indians use the same preparations to treat vomiting, nausea, tender throats, stomach disorders and to cure vertigo and also to control menstrual cycles. The young leaves of the guava tree are chewed to treat bleeding gums and foul breath. It is interesting to note that if the tender guava leaves are chewed before taking intoxicating drinks, they are possibly able to alleviate hangover. Indians native to the Amazon region habitually use a decoction prepared with the leaves of guava to cure mouth sores, bleeding gums or prepare a douche with guava leaves for treating vaginal discharge as well as to tauten and tone up the vaginal walls, especially following childbirth. Similarly, a decoction prepared with the leaves and/ or barks of guava trees or a infusion prepared with the flowers of the tree is usually used to treat injuries, ulcers and aching skin. People suffering from painful eye conditions like conjunctivitis, eye injuries as well as sun strains may get relief if they apply the mashed guava flowers on the affected area.
Several hundred years back, European merchants, explorers and missionaries visiting the Amazon Basin carried the seeds of this delicious fruit to different parts of Africa, Asia, especially India, and the tropical regions in the Pacific enabling people in the tropical regions across the globe to cultivate the species in their respective localities. As discussed earlier, ripened guava fruits are consumed fresh or used commercially in the preparation of jams, jellies, solidified jams, paste as well as juice or beverages. While the Dutch Pharmacopoeia include the guava leaves for curing diarrhea, people in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central and West Africa also use the leaves of the tree for the same purpose. Even today, herbal medical practitioners in Peru use different parts of the guava tree to treat gastroenteritis, gastric disorders, diarrhea, intestinal worms, coughs, vomiting, vaginal discharges, menstrual pain and hemorrhages as well as edema. People in Brazil use guava as a caustic drying agent as well as a diuretic for regulating the flow of urine. People in Peru also use guava as a diuretic. Herbal medical practitioners also prescribe a decoction prepared with guava leaves as a gargle to treat aching throats, laryngitis as well as the swelling of the mouth. In addition, decoctions and/ or infusions prepared with guava leaves and/ or barks are applied externally to treat vaginal irritation, vaginal discharges and skin sores.
Interestingly enough, in the tropical regions, guava is often referred to as the poor man’s apple and has long been used traditionally both as a food item as well as a therapeutic product and many of its medicinal properties have been authenticated by several researches undertaken by scientists across the world in the recent past. As has been discussed earlier, the leaves of guava are an excellent cure for diarrhea – even safe enough to be administered to ailing small children. According to the tropical herbal medicine, one or two cups of a decoction prepared with the guava leaves is considered to be the standard dosage for adults and older children for treating diarrhea and other stomach upsets. Guava leaves are generally not easily available in the markets in the United States, but one can still obtain the tea-cut or powdered leaves of the tree from a few major health food stores or wholesale dealers of botanical items. However, presently, extracts of guava leaves is a new product in the United States markets that is used in different herbal preparations meant for an assortment of purposes. The uses of this leaf extract in different herbal formulae range from medical preparations to cure diarrhea, and herbal antibiotic to regulating bowel movements as well as weight loss preparations. Laboratory tests regarding toxicity of the guava leaves and fruits on rats and mice and also restricted studies on humans have demonstrated that use of neither of these have any adverse aftereffects and are safe for use in anyone – even kids.
In all tropical regions, people use the leaves, roots, barks as well as the unripe fruits of guava to arrest gastroenteritis, dysentery and diarrhea owing to their astringent features. While the mashed guava leaves are applied externally on injuries, ulcers and painful places of the body, the young leaves of the tree are chewed to alleviate toothaches as well as cure bleeding gums. A decoction prepared with the guava leaves is widely taken to cure throat and chest problems, coughs, used as a gargle to alleviate ulcers in the mouth and aching and swollen gums, ingested to lower fevers, including malaria, as well as treat diabetes and boils. In addition, the decoction is also used as an emmenagogue (a medicine that aids in promoting menstrual discharge) and vermifuge (a medicine that expels worms or other animal parasites from the intestines) as well as to cure leucorrhea (a thick, whitish discharge from the vagina or cervical canal).
The decoction prepared with guava leaves has been found to be very effective in stopping vomiting and diarrhea in patients suffering from cholera and is also applied topically to treat skin problems. A decoction prepared with the tender shoots of the guava tree is administered as a febrifuge (a medicine that helps to dispel or reduce fever). In India, herbal medical practitioners recommend the use of an infusion prepared with the guava leaves to treat cerebral disorders, cachexia (general illness with abnormal thinness of the body normally occurring in association with cancer or any chronic infectious disease) and nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys). An extract of guava leaves is prescribed for treating epilepsy and chorea (diseases of the nervous system typified by erratic, instinctive movements, mainly of the face and extremities), while a tincture prepared with guava leaves is massaged on children’s spines to alleviate spasms. On the other hand, a decoction prepared with guava leaves and the barks together is administered to women after childbirth to get rid of the placenta.
Wood : The color of the guava tree timber varies between yellow to reddish and are condensed, superbly grained and reasonably sturdy. Each cubic meter of the guava tree wood weighs anything between 650 kg and 670 kg and is long-lasting when used indoors. Guava tree wood is widely used in turnery and carpentry. The wood of this tree has an inclination to become distorted when seasoned, but is still in great demand in Malaya where it is extensively used of in making handles. In India, the guava tree wood is appreciated and exploited for carvings and etchings. On the other hand, people in Guatemala exploit the guava wood for making spinning tops, while in El Salvador people manufacture trendy hair combs that decay on being wet. In addition, the wood is excellent as fuel wood and a valuable resource for charcoal.
Leaves and barks : The leaves and barks of the guava tree enclose high percentage of tannins. Normally, the tannin content in the dry guava leaves is around 10 per cent by weight, while tannins make up 11-30 per cent of the barks. In Central America, people exploit the guava tree barks for tanning hides. In Malaya, people uses the leaves of the guava tree along with other plant substances to prepare a black coloring for silk, while people in Southeast Asia use the leaves of the tree to add a black color to cotton. People in Indonesia use the guava leaves as a colorant for matting.
Fruits : Ripened guava is eaten raw and tastes delicious. The fruit is also sliced and included in salads and desserts. In many parts of the world, guava is cooked and the fruit emits a strong scent when it is being cooked. Stewed guava shells known as ‘cascos de guayaba’ is a typical dessert all over Latin America and the Spanish-speaking islands of West Indies. To prepare ‘cascos de guayaba’, you need to cut the ripened fruits into halves and remove the pulp in the middle of the fruits containing the seeds. Next, they are strained and mixed with shells while cooking with a view to enhance the syrup. This product is often canned and sold extensively and the shells used in making the syrup can be frozen fast and without much difficulty. This preparation is normally served along with cream cheese. On many occasions, even the ripened guava is canned raw either as a whole fruit or, at times, cut into halves along with the seeds and the pulp enclosing them before canning.
For many people in the tropical regions bars prepared with heavy and plentiful of guava paste and guava cheese are essential sweets. In addition to these, even guava jelly is extensively sold almost all over the world. In Hawaii, people prepare guava juice by boiling small pieces of the fruit after removing its seeds and filtering the liquid. This juice is extensively used by the Hawaiians in punch as well as ice cream sodas. Even the South Africans prepare a lucid guava juice preserving all the ascorbic acid and other characteristics of the fruit by putting it over extreme heat. To prepare the juice, the South Africans trim and mince the fruits and blend them with natural fungal enzymes that is now marketed under different brand names. Next, they keep the blend at an extremely high temperature ranging between 49°C and 54°C for about 18 long hours at a stretch. The liquid is strained to obtain the clear guava juice that is made into syrup and used on ice creams, waffles, puddings as well as in milkshakes. In the Caribbean region, nectar and guava juice comprise numerous canned and/ or bottled beverages made from fruits.
Many people also wash and trim the floral residue of the whole guava fruit and put it in syrup or just spray sugar on it before packing them in plastic pouches and freezing the delicious preparations. In effect, there are numerous procedures regarding the use of guavas in pies, puddings, ice creams, butter, cakes, chutneys, marmalades, relishes, catsup and other delicacies. Interestingly, a firm manufacturing baby food product in South Africa sells a product with guava and tapioca. In addition, an extract obtained from small and excessively ripe guavas is exploited as ascorbic acid supplement for beverages and different foodstuff.
Often guava is dehydrated to produce a powdered substance that may be employed to add essence to confectionary, ice cream as well as fruit juices. Alternately, ripened guava may also be boiled with sugar to prepare jellies or used as pectin to prepare jellies from fruits containing low pectin. In India, people find it feasible to dry and store ripened guavas when there is an abundance of the fruit during the season with the objective to prepare guava jellies during the off season. People in South Africa blend ripened guavas with cornmeal and other items to prepare food flakes for breakfast.
It may be noted here that green, but mature guavas may be used as an excellent natural resource of pectin as, compared to the ripened fruits, this provides slightly higher quantity and better quality of pectin.
Ascorbic acid: The guava fruit encloses substantial quantity of ascorbic acid. Primarily, the skin and the compact flesh contain most of the ascorbic acid, while some amount of it is also present in the middle pulp of the fruit. The amount of ascorbic acid present in these parts of the fruit range between 56 mg and 600 mg. The range of ascorbic acid in near ripened fruits may be between 350 mg and 450 mg. When different varieties of guava from the same assortment are completely ripe and soft, the ascorbic acid content in them may drop to anything between 50 mg and 100 mg. It may be noted that canning the fruit or processing it by application of heat usually wipes out approximately 50 per cent of its ascorbic acid content. In addition to ascorbic acid, the seeds of the fruit enclose 15 per cent protein, 14 per cent aromatic oil and 13 per cent starch. Carbonyl chemicals enclosed in guava are said to be responsible for the strong scent of the fruit.
