Skip to main content

Common guava (Psidium guajava)

Jambu biji or jambu batu or stone guava or common guava (Psidium guajava) is a plant species in Myrtaceae, a small tree with upright stems and sympodial branches, 2-10 m tall, many branches, smooth bark, greenish brown, flowering throughout the year, growing in the tropics at altitudes up to 1200 m and very adaptive.

P. guajava has young rectangular-shaped stems and old hard woody stems. The surface of the trunk is slippery with a thin layer of skin and is easily peeled off. When the bark is exfoliated, the inside of the stem is green.

Dlium Common guava (Psidium guajava)

The leaves have a single structure and give off a distinctive aroma when squeezed, sitting cross-linked with the position facing and bones pinned. The shape of the leaf varies influenced by genetics and environment including oval, taper and inverted egg rounds.

Flowers have greenish white pistils with lobed head shapes. Polyandrous stamens, 0.5-1.2 cm long and white with a cream-colored head. Each flower has 180-600 stamens which the greater the diameter of the flower the more the number of stamens.

Single fruit is very dense and heavy, edible, thin skin and smooth to rough surface. Fruits have many variations for shape, size, color and taste, depending on the variety. Small and hard seeds grow in the middle of the fruit.

Fruits contain vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, calcium and phosphorus. The content of vitamin C is five times more than oranges. The fruit also contains saponins with oleanolic, Morin-3-O-α-Llyxopyranoside, morin-3-O-α-L-arabopyraoside and flavonoids, guaijavarin and quercetin.







Fruit skin contains 56-600 mg of ascorbic acid, while leaves contain flavonoids, tannins, ellagic acid, triterpenoids, guiajaverin, quercetin and other chemical compounds. Tree bark contains 12-30% tannins or polyphenols, resins and calcium oxalate crystals.

Roots are also rich in tannins, leukocyanidins, sterols and gallic acid. Twigs contain calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Fluoride concentrations range from 0.02-0.11 ppm, copper (0.02-0.14 ppm), iron (2.86-5.14 ppm), zinc (0.31-0.57 ppm), manganese ( 0.00-0.26 ppm) and lead (0.00-0.11 ppm).

The fruit is usually eaten fresh, processed into various forms of food and drinks, treatments including improving digestion, lowering cholesterol, antioxidants, relieving fatigue and lethargy, dengue fever and canker sores. Ethanol extract of leaves as an antioxidant.

Leaves for anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, analgesic, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, reduce fever, increase platelets and inhibit the growth of rotavirus. Bark and roots to cure dysentery, vaginal discharge, thrush, ringworm, inflammation of the stomach, swollen gums and sunburned skin.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Subfamily: Myrtoideae
Tribe: Myrteae
Genus: Psidium
Species: Psidium guajava
Varieties: Psidium guajava var. cujavillum, Psidium guajava var. guajava, Psidium guajava var. minor.

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Purhepecha oak (Quercus purhepecha), new species of shrub oak endemic to the state of Michoacán, Mexico

NEWS - In Mexico, several Quercus shrubby species are taxonomically very problematic including 8 taxa with similar characteristics. Now researchers report the purhepecha oak ( Quercus purhepecha De Luna-Bonilla, S. Valencia & Coombes sp. nov.) as a new tomentose shrubby white oak species with a distribution only in the Cuitzeo basin in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). Quercus Linnaeus (1753) subdivided into 2 subgenera and 8 sections of which section Quercus (white oaks) has the widest distribution in the Americas, Asia and Europe. This section is very diverse in Mexico and Central America with phylogenomic evidence indicating recent and accelerated speciation in these regions. The number of shrubby oak species in Mexico is still uncertain. De Luna-Bonilla of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues found at least 3 taxa in the TMVB, specifically Quercus frutex Trelease (1924), Quercus microphylla Née (1801) and Quercus repanda Bonpland (1809). In 2016,...

Cempaki (Termitomyces microcarpus)

Cempaki ( Termitomyces microcarpus ) is a species of fungus in the Lyophyllaceae family. It grows wild in tropical Asian forests near termite nests. It is rarely reported in urban areas. It is edible and known for its deliciousness, high nutritional value, and difficulty in cultivating. In Indonesia, it is used as an alternative food ingredient. T. microcarpus is the smallest of the Termitomyces species, umbrella-shaped, plain white, measuring 5 cm tall and 2.5 cm wide. It grows in dense clusters on surfaces and forms a mutualistic relationship, requiring the metabolic activity of termites as a substrate for growth. This species is known for its deliciousness, rich in nutrients, and has potential bioactive properties, such as helping lower cholesterol and acting as a tonic. Currently, it is difficult to cultivate on a large scale, and people rely solely on wild harvests. This mushroom is highly favored for its savory, delicious flavor and soft, chewy texture. It is often stir-fried ...