Aegle marmelos

Aegle marmelos, commonly known as bael (a.k.a. bel, beli, or bhel), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal as a naturalized species. The tree is considered to be sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.

Description

A medium sized tree. It loses its leaves. It grows to 3-6-12 m tall and spreads 2 m across. The stem is erect and thorny. The leaves are green and with 3 leaflets and generally sword shaped. They are aromatic. The flowers are yellowish-white. They have a strong sweet smell. They contain both sexes and occur in clusters. The fruit is large and with a hard shell about 3 mm thick. It is 8-10 cm across. The fruit is yellow-green when ripe. The pulp is reddish or orange. The pulp of the fruit is edible. The fruit is made up of small cells (about 15) each with woolly seeds.

Edible Uses

The fruit is the primary edible portion and can be eaten raw or made into marmalades, jams, jellies, and drinks. The orange fruits have an aromatic yellow pulp; at ripeness this pulp develops a scented mucilage with a sweet flavour. The fruit can be cut in half or broken open and the pulp dressed with palm sugar as a breakfast dish. It is notably high in vitamin C. The fruit itself is a rounded berry, 50–125mm in diameter, with a hard woody shell. Young leaves and shoots can be cooked as a vegetable or used as a condiment, and are said to reduce appetite. An infusion of the flowers makes a refreshing drink. Nutritional values per 100g of fruit: moisture 58%, energy 577 kJ (138 kcal), protein 2.3g, vitamin A 0.13µg, vitamin C 219mg, iron 0.55mg.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw. They are also used to make drinks. The fruit are often sliced and dried. Marmalade can be made from ripe pulp. They can also be pickled or used in jams and jellies. The young shoots and leaves can be eaten raw in salad. They are also used in chutneys. The flowers are used to make a drink. CAUTION: There are reports that leaves make women sterile or cause abortions.

Medicinal Uses

The fruits, leaves, twigs, and roots of bael contain coumarins, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and oil, and all are used medicinally. The dried pulp is astringent, reduces irritation in the digestive tract, and is considered an excellent remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery. A decoction of the unripe fruit combined with fennel and ginger is prescribed for haemorrhoids. A decoction of the unripe fruit is also valued as an aphrodisiac. The ripe fruit is laxative and demulcent, easing stomach pain and supporting healthy digestion. The psoralen in the pulp is thought to increase tolerance of sunlight and help maintain normal skin colour, making it useful in treating leucoderma. Marmelosin derived from the pulp acts as a laxative and diuretic, though in large doses it lowers the respiratory rate, depresses heart action, and causes drowsiness. For medicinal markets, young tender fruits are sliced horizontally and sun-dried, and are widely exported to Malaysia and Europe. The leaves are astringent and used to treat peptic ulcers. The dried root is used for earache: it is dipped in neem oil (Azadirachta indica) and set alight so that oil from the burning end drips into the ear — though this practice is not recommended.

Known Hazards

Aegeline is a known constituent of the bael leaf and consumed as a dietary supplement with the intent to produce weight loss. In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, and Hawaii state and local health officials identified an outbreak of 97 persons with acute non-viral hepatitis that first emerged in Hawaii. Seventy-two of these persons had reported using the dietary supplement OxyElite Pro, containing aegeline, which was manufactured by the Dallas-based company USPlabs. FDA had previously taken action against an earlier formulation of OxyElite Pro because it contained dimethylamylamine, a stimulant that FDA had determined to be an adulterant when included in dietary supplements, and could cause high blood pressure and lead to heart attacks, seizures, psychiatric disorders, and death. USPlabs subsequently reformulated this product without informing the FDA or submitting the required safety data for a new dietary ingredient. Doctors at the Liver Center at The Queen's Medical Center investigating the first cases in Hawaii reported that between May and September 2013, eight previously healthy individuals presented themselves at their center suffering from a drug-induced liver injury. All of these patients had been using the reformulated OxyElite Pro, which they had purchased from different sources, and which had different lot numbers and expiration dates, at doses within the manufacturer's recommendation. Three of these patients developed fulminant liver failure, two underwent urgent liver transplantation, and one died. The number of such cases ultimately rose to 44 in Hawaii. In January 2014, leaders from the Queen's Liver Center informed state lawmakers that they were almost certain that aegeline was the agent responsible for these cases, but the mechanism of how aegeline may damage the liver has not been isolated.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It prefers rich well drained soils in an open sunny position. It suits tropical or warm places. It appears to do best where there is a distinct dry season. It is drought and frost tender. It grows in Nepal to about 1100 m altitude. A hot dry summer is best. It can tolerate some alkalinity and salty soils. It can tolerate alkalinity. It can grow in arid places. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh*, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, Guianas, Hawaii, Himalayas, India*, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, NW India, Pacific, Pakistan*, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uganda, USA, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies,

Cultivation

It is grown from seed. Seed are taken from freshly picked ripe fruit. Seedlings are planted out after one year. It can be grown from root offshoots. They are best grown using patch budding. Trees are spaced 6-9 m apart. Trees can be pruned to have 4-6 strong branches. Suckers should be removed. It can also be grown from root suckers or air layering.

Propagation

Commonly grown from seed in nurseries and transplanted to the field, though seedlings show considerable variation in form, rind texture, pulp quality and quantity, and seed number. Can also be propagated from root suckers or by budding onto seedling rootstocks.

Other Uses

The plant is occasionally grown as a hedge, its spiny branches forming an effective living barrier. Stems are used as chewsticks. Wild fruit pulp contains up to 9% tannin, with cultivated types having less; the rind contains up to 20%, and tannin is also present in the leaves. The rind of the unripe fruit is used in tanning and yields a yellow dye for calico and silk. The essential oil of the leaves contains d-limonene, 56% a-d-phellandrene, cineol, citronellal, citral, 17% p-cymene, and 5% cumin aldehyde. The limonene-rich oil distilled from the rind is used to scent hair oil. A pungent essential oil from the fruit rind is used in perfumes and soap. A leaf extract has shown insecticidal activity against the brown plant hopper, a key rice pest in Asia. Dried fruit shells with the pulp removed serve as cups, small containers, and decorative pill and snuff boxes, sometimes ornamented with gold and silver. The mucilage around unripe seeds — most abundant in wild, unripe fruit — is used as a household glue and by jewellers as an adhesive. It is mixed with lime plaster for waterproofing wells and added to cement in wall construction. Artists incorporate it into watercolours and use it as a protective coating on paintings. The gum is sometimes used as a soap substitute, and the fruit pulp has detergent properties useful for washing clothes. The grey-white wood is strongly aromatic when freshly cut, fine-grained, and hard but not durable; it takes a fine polish. Typically available in smaller dimensions, it is used for carving, small-scale turnery, tool and knife handles, pestles, and combs. Larger pieces have been used for carts and construction, though the wood tends to warp and crack during curing. It can also be used as fuel.

Production

It is slow growing. Trees produce in 3-4 years. Full production is gained after 15 years. Fruit are produced throughout the year. Fruit should be picked and not allowed to drop. There can be 200-400 fruit per tree. A fruit can weigh 1 kg. Fruit ripen in the dry season. Fruit can be ripened off the tree. Trees can continue bearing for 50 years. The fruit can be stored for 2 weeks at 30°C and for 4 months at 10°C.

Other Information

Fruit are sold in markets. It is commonly cultivated.

Notes

There are 3 Aegle species. In some places the fruit is used as treatment for diarrhoea. The tree is common in temple gardens in India. It has anticancer properties.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aluvigam, Arbol de bael, Bak tuum, Beel, Bel, bela, Belang, Beli, Bella, Belo, Belpatri, Belthei, Belu, Bil, Bila, Bilak, Bili, Bilpatre, Bilva, Bnau, Chilongpak chi, Golden apple, Hpun ja, Indian bael, Indian quince, Iyalbudi, Kawista, Kia-bok, Koovalam, Ma pin, Maak tum, Mahafal, Mak-phyn, Maja batu, Maja ingus, Maja, Mak tum, Maredoo, Maredu, Marmelo, Matoon, Matoom, Matum, Muredu, Okshit, Opesheet, Phnao, Phneu, Pnoeu, Pohon maja manis, Sinje dari, Sirphal, Soh-bel, Srifal, Thepli, Toum, Tum, Vilva marum, Vilvam, Vilvan, Yod maak tuum

References (143)

• Acharya K. P. and Acharya, R., 2010, Eating from the Wild: Indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants in Parroha VDC of Rupandehi District, Central Nepal. International Journal of Social Forestry. 3(1):28-48
• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 16
• Arinathan, V., et al, 2007, Wild edibles used by Palliyars of the western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 163-168
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 56
• Aryal, K. P. et al, 2009, Uncultivated Plants and Livehood Support - A case study from the Chepang people of Nepal. Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 7:409-422

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