Knowing the food we eat is certainly a good habit.
The fruits of the plants are not all equal, they are divided into different types and each of them generally has very distinct nutritional characteristics: we discover those of peponids, pomes and compound fruits.
Peponids: characteristics and properties
The term peponide refers to the fruits of the species belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family .
Size, shape and characteristics of the skin are variable, just think of the difference between a carousel and a giant pumpkin or between a round courgette and a watermelon moon and stars.
It is a kind of fruit that tends to have a central cavity, where the numerous seeds are concentrated; except in rare cases, the pulp is sweet, or at least watery .
As mentioned, the peel can vary, from edible, like that of cucumbers, to woody, like that of pumpkins. In the group of peponids, we find therefore the pumpkins, the melons, the watermelons, the courgettes, the cucumbers, the bitter melons, and the fruits of other exotic plants that have in common the climbing tendency, which gives the family its name: "corb", in Sanskrit, is about to "twist".
What do these fruits bring? A lot of water, above all; after which vitamins such as K, A and those of group B, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, lignans considered useful in the prevention of various cancers (especially those that attack the brain), a fiber that supports digestion, fights the fermentation of food in the intestine and therefore helps to have a good breath.
Autumn and its forgotten fruits
Pomi: characteristics and properties
The term pomo has always been attributed to the false fruits of the Rosaceae family . Why the name of false fruit? Botany explains that in this case, the real fruit is not made up of the pulp, which represents most of the mass of the apples, but of the so-called core that contains the seeds ; the pulp in reality would be only the inflorescence without fertilization which is filled with substance in growth and maturation.
Generally the peel is thin and edible, with some exceptions; the pulp is sweet, although it can sometimes appear as acid; the seeds, as mentioned, are piccolio and enclosed in the core. Among the apples we can find very famous and consumed fruits, just think of the apple, pear, quince ; but we can also add to the list other, less well-known, or rather, slightly forgotten fruits: the Japanese medlar, the medlar, the azure, the hawthorn, the dog rose, the rowan .
The old proverbs tell us about the medicinal properties and good taste of the apples, their typical sweetness and their benefits: it seems that the apples increase the level of some neurotransmitters able to counteract the onset of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's . Their particularly soluble fibers help fight type 2 diabetes and lower cholesterol levels. The flavonoids contained in the apples appear to be effective in preventing pancreatic cancer .
Compound fruits: characteristics and properties
Also called aggregate fruits, the compound fruits are a botanical curiosity, more properly called etaerio : it is the development of several fertilized ovaries, which are found in a single fruit .
They are part of different kinds of fruits and are not a group in themselves: we find them in drupes, like blackberries ; the pineapple, from the Bromeliaceae family, and the strawberry, which actually turns out to be an achene; the list can continue including raspberries, mulberries, wild strawberries, etc.
The fusion of the various ovaries in the form of cluster or cluster, in the wake of the suggestive English term, can reach different dimensions; we speak in these cases of juicy and fleshy fruits, concentrates of phytonutrients, with small seeds, even if the aggregate reaches considerable dimensions, such as pineapple.
We have said that compound fruits are generally phytocomplex concentrates, often flavonoids useful for many metabolic functions, capable of maintaining a high level of health and enriching our vitamin reserves.
