Pineapple

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) belongs to the Bromeliaceae family, from which one of its most important health-promoting compounds, the enzyme bromelain, was named.

Pineapples have a wide cylindrical shape, a scaly green, brown or yellow skin and a regal crown of spiny, blue-green leaves. The fibrous flesh of pineapple is yellow in color and has a vibrant tropical flavor that balances the tastes of sweet and tart. The area closer to the base of the fruit has more sugar content and therefore a sweeter taste and more tender texture.

Pineapple is actually not just one fruit but a composite of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core. Each fruitlet can be identified by an “eye,” the rough spiny marking on the pineapple’s surface. The fruitlets of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking spirals, eight spirals in one direction, thirteen in the other; each being a Fibonacci number. This is one of many examples of Fibonacci numbers appearing in nature.

Pineapple is a good source of manganese, as well as containing significant amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin B1.It also contains a proteolytic enzyme – bromelain, which digests food by breaking down protein and significant evidence pointing to the anti-inflammatory benefits. Bromelain is a complex mixture of substances that can be extracted from the stem and core fruit of the pineapple. Among dozens of components known to exist in this crude extract, the best studied components are a group of protein-digesting enzymes (cysteine proteinases).