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The Chemistry of Passion Fruit

Despite its name, passion fruit, sometimes referred to as Granadilla, has nothing to do with love or any other emotion, but comes from the Latin name, Passiflora edulis L. The fruit is known for its beautiful white flowers with their purple to pink blooms. Passion fruit can be yellow or purple. The purple passion fruit hails mainly from southern Brazil and Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is subtropical and thrives in a frost-free climate and also is indigenous to the tropical regions of America. The yellow form is of unknown origin, but has been attributed to the Amazon region of Brazil.

  1. Purple or Yellow

    • Passion fruit are round or ovoid in shape and measure 1.5- to 3 inches in width. The rind is tough but smooth and the colors range in hue from dark purple with white specks, to light yellow or pumpkin-color. The cavity of the fruit contains orange-colored juice and as many as 250 small, hard, dark brown or black, pitted seeds within membranous sacs. The flavor of the fruit is unique and tasty, similar to a guava, somewhat tart yet sweet. The yellow fruit is generally larger than the purple, but the pulp of the purple is less acid, richer in aroma and taste, and has more juice (35 to 38 percent).

    Sugars

    • The total carbohydrate content of a passion fruit is approximately 15 to 20 percent with slight differences between the purple and yellow varieties. The purple fruit has 33.5 percent fructose, 37.1 percent glucose and 29.4 percent sucrose. The yellow fruit has 29.4 percent, 38.1 percent and 32.4 percent respectively.

    Acids

    • Both the purple and the yellow fruits have a high acid content (pH around 3).They both contain the following acids: citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid and ascorbic acid. The purple variety has more lactic and malonic acids than the yellow fruit; the yellow fruit has considerably more citric and malic acid. The sugar/acid ratio is often used as a measure of sweetness and with passion fruit, there is a significant difference between the purple and yellow varieties -- 5:1 compared to 3:8. The purple is sweeter.

    Phytochemicals

    • Passion fruit contain the following phytochemicals: Passaflorine, Harmine, Harman, Harmol, Harmalin, Carotenoids, Vitexin, Isovitexin and Chrysin, Scopoletin, Carotenoids, and Theobromine. There also are nine pigments including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and gamma-carotene.

    Medical Benefits

    • The passion fruit has several medicinal uses. The leaves are known for their blood-pressure lowering, sedative and antispasmodic action. The passion flower is used in the treatment of nervous disorders, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders and menopausal problems and can be used as a mild hallucinogen. The peel extract of the purple passion fruit has been found to reduce asthma symptoms and has been shown to reduce pain and stiffness associated with osteoarthritis.The carotenoids and polyphenols of the yellow passion fruit are responsible for the fruit's anti-cancer effect.

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