Content
Avocado, or American persea, is a fruit that has long been grown in areas with a humid tropical climate. Avocado has been known since the Aztec civilization. The pulp and bone were used to prepare medicinal “forest oil.” The avocado pit is located in the center of the fruit and is rarely used because many consumers are not familiar with the unique properties of the drupe.
Is it possible to eat an avocado seed?
Avocados are trees and fruits of the same name. The trees grow up to 20 m and have evergreen lance-shaped leaves. The branches grow in a short period of time, stretching up to 5 - 8 m.
The fruits can be of different colors, it depends on the variety. However, the main characteristics of the fruits are approximately the same:
- the shape of the berry is semi-oval, its minimum length is 5 cm, maximum – 20 cm;
- weight varies from 100 g to 1 kg;
- The peel is hard and dense, dark green or black;
- the pulp of all berries is light green and oily, and may release oil when fully ripe;
- The seeds of the fruit are light or dark brown seeds.
Avocado pulp is known to be healthy and nutritious. It is valued for its content of essential oils and organic acids. The degree of maturity is determined by the density of the structure. The bone, which is located in the center, is most often removed and not used.
This is due to the common belief that avocado seeds contain toxic substances. This information is only half reliable. The avocado seed was used as food by the ancient Aztecs and is part of a well-known spice in the Middle East.
The benefits and harms of avocado seeds for the body can be tracked if you familiarize yourself in detail with the features of this part of the avocado.
When choosing this fruit, few housewives know that the oblong pear-shaped fruit contains a voluminous seed. Small round fruits have small seeds. But at the same time, large fruits are considered more juicy and dense in structure, while small avocados are watery and may have veins.
The stone is a kind of assistant when cutting the fruit into halves. They probe the flesh with a knife and begin to cut before the tip of the blade begins to rest on the bone. Then the fruit continues to be cut in a circle and opened, leaving an intact drupe in the center.
Is the avocado seed poisonous?
Information about the toxicity of avocado seeds appeared after scientists published data on the properties of the product’s composition. Its peel, leaves and seeds contain a highly toxic substance - persin, which was first isolated from avocado leaves and found to be harmful to health.
This compound of a sparingly soluble type is similar in molecular formula to organic fatty acids and has similar properties.In high dosages, persin is dangerous, but a small amount of the substance will remain harmless to the human body.
This quality of persin can be compared with the harm and benefits of consuming sugar. Taking sucrose daily in large quantities will certainly lead to poor health, but, contrary to this, sugar is considered one of the most popular components of the food basket.
Information that avocado leaves, peel and seeds can cause the development of gastrointestinal diseases in animals and even their subsequent death also does not indicate the benefits of avocado seeds. Eating leaves by animals in large quantities inevitably leads to diseases, since the animals thereby receive an excess of persin, which begins to measure in hundreds of grams.
It is safe to conclude that, despite the presence of a highly toxic substance, the avocado seed cannot cause harm to health with moderate, controlled intake.
What are the benefits of an avocado seed?
However, the fact that scientists and researchers are arguing about the toxicity of the avocado seed, its benefits and harm to the human body is explained by the fact that the seed has high medicinal qualities. External use of extracts of all parts of the avocado has long been used at the industrial level.
Ingestion is complicated by preparation methods. The drupe is quite rigid in structure. To use it for food, you need to obtain a powder or cut off the particles with a sharp knife for further preparation.
The avocado seed contains several groups of substances that have beneficial properties:
- Tannins. These are compounds that are known for their tanning properties. They contain pomegranate seeds, bird cherry berries, and persimmons. They are famous for their qualities of stopping bleeding, improving blood clotting, and having an anti-inflammatory effect. Tannins can be part of antidotes due to their astringent properties and ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria;
- Amino acids. Organic compounds that are an essential part of most chemical reactions. They improve metabolic processes and structure cells. Amino acids also help reduce the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases;
- Cellulose. When cooked correctly, the avocado pit retains its fiber structure. Fiber helps normalize digestive processes, removes harmful substances from the body and has a positive effect on peristalsis. The ability of fiber to normalize the passage of gastric juice is also important;
- B vitamins. Important components of any processes in the body. Affect the condition of facial skin, hair growth, quality of nail plates;
- Active components. Among the components there are traces of substances that activate the production of collagen or elastin. They slow down the aging process and help improve the protective properties of the epidermis;
- Compounds of substances with an unusual bitter taste, they act as one of the natural aphrodisiacs;
- Substances with bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effects, help improve the body's defenses and are regarded as activators of natural immunity. Powder-based decoctions help normalize the patient’s condition during a cold.
Persin is being actively studied by scientists: the therapeutic value of the component may be associated with its protective properties against the formation of cancer cells.
How to use an avocado seed
You can use avocado pits at home. You can prepare your own spice mixture or make a face mask using this fruit. The use of pomace and extracts from parts of the fruit in industrial production is widespread.
In cooking
To use the avocado seed at home for cooking, it is crushed. The process by which the powder is obtained looks like this step by step:
- The pit of a ripe avocado is cleared of pulp.
- The top brown shell is removed.
- The contents are cut in half.
- The resulting pieces are fried in a frying pan or baked for 15 minutes.
- The resulting mass is left to dry for 10 hours.
- Then it is crushed with a blender or meat grinder to a powdery state.
Ripe avocado powder will have an orange-yellow hue. Iranians use the powder to season any meat dishes.
A decoction of the powder can be taken for indigestion; to do this, boil 1 tbsp. l. powder with 1 tbsp. water. The drink has a pleasant taste and can be sweetened or supplemented with lemon juice.
In cosmetology
The avocado seed is popular in preparing masks for the face, body and hair.This is due to the fact that the composition has anti-inflammatory, vasoconstrictor and bactericidal properties. To prepare cosmetics, avocado seed is used in one of the following forms:
- like paste;
- as an alcohol-based infusion;
- as an abrasive.
Powder, ground with water or cream, is suitable for softening the skin, eliminating inflammation and redness. If you add vegetable or olive oil to the paste, you can use the mixture as a massage oil or sunscreen.
With regular application of such cream-based preparations, the appearance of wrinkles can be significantly reduced due to the content of substances in the seed that promote the production of natural collagen.
The powder is infused in alcohol for 7 days in a ratio of 1:3. The mixture is wiped over inflamed areas and applied to small pimples and boils. Overnight, the infusion can dry out the skin and lighten redness.
Powder infused with water is suitable for rinsing hair. The ingredients in the composition make hair denser and shinier. Its weekly use helps stimulate hair growth and improve the condition of hair follicles.
Avocado seeds, like apricot seeds, are suitable for preparing scrubs that allow you to remove the upper keratinized layer of the epidermis.
In treatment
Avocado seeds have long been known for their medicinal properties. Based on them, decoctions are prepared for the treatment of diarrhea and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Since avocado seed has a low glycemic index, it is used as a means of increasing vascular elasticity in patients with diabetes.
Adding a small amount of powder to tea or water at the beginning of the day improves brain function.
Avocado pit damage
Uncontrolled consumption of drupes is practically impossible, but an excess of persin can be harmful to health. You should be responsible when taking products based on powder or dense seed pulp.
Contraindications to the use of avocado seeds
In addition to its beneficial properties, the avocado seed has direct contraindications. It is not used:
- pregnant and lactating women;
- children under 8 years old;
- people suffering from complex allergic reactions to food;
- persons with individual intolerance to avocado oil;
- those who have been diagnosed with liver disease (essential oils can negatively affect the condition of the liver);
- who adheres to a certain diet related to health conditions;
- elderly people taking a variety of analgesic-based medications.
Conclusion
An avocado seed is a part of the fruit that can be both harmful and beneficial. The unique medicinal properties of the seed are taken into account when preparing a variety of cosmetics, and are also used for some diseases associated with digestion and the state of the body’s vascular system.
