Are they all the fruits of cactus?Why are there so many colors of dragon fruit?

Review expert: Shen Tingting

Botanical PhD

Dragon fruit is a very beloved fruit. The soft and tender flesh can "sloppy" in the mouth like jelly. We usually eat red -skinned red or red -skinned white meat dragon fruit. Have you ever seen a dragon fruit of yellow skin? Why are different colors of dragon fruit different? Today, let's understand the story of the dragon fruit together.

Source 丨 Sohu

Type of Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit belongs to the plants of Hylocereus (Hylocereus), which are native to tropical and subtropical regions in Mexico, Central America and South America. my country has introduced cultivation dragon fruit in the early 1990s, and is currently planted in Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong and other places.

The peel of the dragon fruit young fruit is blue and green, and the color becomes red or yellow when mature. According to the color of peel flesh, the dragon fruit is mainly divided into three categories: red skin red meat, red skin and white meat, and yellow skin white meat. Red skin red meat and red -skinned white meat dragon fruit have a wide range of planting, which is very common in supermarkets. The golden fire dragon fruit of yellow skin and white meat is a scarce variety, so the price is more expensive, and the price on the market can reach 100 yuan/piece.

Source 丨 pixabay

Source 丨 pixabay

According to the shape of the peel, the golden fire dragon fruit is divided into two categories. The one of the peeling strap has many small spikes. No thorns are from Israel, and their appearance and flesh color are similar to the white heart dragon fruit.

Bird's nest fruit

Strangless Huanglong Source ｜ Fangchenggang News Network

Golden fire dragon fruits are suitable for growing in acidic soils, high requirements for heat, and suitable for planting in areas with a minimum temperature of 8 ° C throughout the year. Its growth cycle takes 3 to 6 months from flowering to fruit maturity, which is conducive to the accumulation of sugar and organic matter. Therefore, the taste is better than the other two dragon fruit. However, the production of golden fire dragon fruit is small, and large -scale commercial planting has not yet been achieved.

Sweet from tropical style

Dragon fruit is not only sweet, delicate and juicy, but also high nutritional value, rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, protein and minerals.

1. Higanin and beet redin

The peel and flesh of the dragon fruit are rich in anthocyanins. The red of the dragon fruit comes from a large amount of beet redin it contains. After eating the red meat dragon fruit, your lips are like lipstick with the "Dragon Fruit color". In the body, the sugar base of beet redin will be digested and decomposed first, and the beet -aldosine (main color group) will be relatively stable, it is not easy to be degraded, and it will be excreted from the body, which will occur in "hematuria".

Source of the molecular structure of beet redin ｜ Baidu Encyclopedia

2. Sugar

The sugar content of the dragon fruit is high, and the acid content is low, and its sugar acid ratio reaches 16: 0 ~ 26: 1. The golden fire dragon fruit is the sweetest, and the soluble sugar it contains is as high as 24%. The total sugar content of red -skinned red meat dragon fruit is about 18.70% ± 4.14%, which is significantly higher than the red -skinned white meat dragon fruit.

3. Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber is carbohydrates that exist in plants. They are divided into two types: water -soluble dietary fiber and unable to soluble dietary fiber. The average dietary fiber content of red meat dragon fruit is 2.3%, which is significantly higher than the dietary fiber content of apples (1.2%), orange (0.6%), and peaches (1.3%). And the amount of water -soluble dietary fiber in the dragon fruit is more, accounting for about 69%of the total dietary fiber, so the pulp texture is very soft.

4. Protein and amino acids

The protein content of dragon fruit is high, about 1.2%, which is equivalent to 2 to 3 times the protein content of mango, pineapple and other fruits. The albumin in its flowers, fruits, and stems is very rich and stable. The type of amino acids in the dragon fruit is relatively complete and contains 17 amino acids, of which glutamic acid, glycine, and proline are high.

Fire dragon fruit flowers can be cooking, delicious and nutritious sources ｜ Baidu Encyclopedia

5. Vitamins and minerals

The vitamin content in dragon fruit is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B9, etc. Fire dragon fruit contains a large amount of mineral elements such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium. Among them, the iron and magnesium content of the flesh are the highest. The calcium elements are mainly concentrated in the peel. The zinc content in the fruit seeds is the most abundant.

6. Fatty acid

Fatty acids are the smallest unit molecules of fats that provide energy to the body. The fatty acids of the dragon fruit are concentrated in the grains, and most of them are unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid and oleic acid, and their contents are 44.29%and 31.75%, respectively.

7. Polyphenol -type compound

The polyphenols in the dragon fruit include tannins, tannic acid, and flavonoids. Red skin red meat fire dragon fruit skin is higher than the flesh, and there are many polyphenols in the dragon fruit flowers.

How much do you know about medicinal effects?

Because dragon fruit contains a variety of nutrients, it also has high nutritional health and medicinal value.

1. Lay to reduce weight loss, anti -intestinal cancer

The water -soluble dietary fiber rich in dragon fruit has the effect of weight loss, reduced blood sugar, intestines, and prevent colorectal cancer. In addition, the dietary fiber in the dragon fruit can enhance people's sense of satiety, reduce energy intake, and thereby weight loss.

2. Antioxidant, anti -tumor

The anthocyanins contained in the dragon fruit have the effects of antioxidant, anti -aging, and anti -free radicals. They can remove free radicals that induce cancer and cause aging in the human body and inhibit the occurrence of tumors.At the same time, anthocyanins can effectively prevent vascular sclerosis.In addition, the flavonoids, vitamin C, and vitamin E contained in dragon fruit also have certain antioxidant functions.Source ｜ Unsplash

3. Reduce cardiovascular disease

The linoleic acid in the dragon fruit seeds is unsaturated fatty acid, which can reduce the content of cholesterol in human blood, and has the effect of preventing atherosclerosis and hypertension.

4. Detoxify the stomach

The plant -based albumin in the dragon fruit can be combined with heavy metal ions in the human body. It is excreted through the excretion system to avoid the intestinal absorption of heavy metals, which has a detoxification effect.At the same time, albumin can also form a protective film, which has a protective effect on the stomach wall.

The skin is thin, sweet and refreshing, and rich in nutrition. Dragon fruit is really a fruit with both face value and inner fruit.This summer, I hope everyone can fully enjoy this sweetness.

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