The jambul fruit is known by several other names depending on the language of the region where it grows. Some of its many names include Java plum, black plum, Damson plum, Jambolan plum, Portuguese plum, Duhat, Lomboy, Dhuwet or Juwet.
The tree can grow up to a height of 30m and can live for more than 100 yrs. In India, the wood is sometimes used in railway sleepers and to make cheap furniture. The tree flowers from March to April, producing small, fragrant flowers about 5 mm in diameter. The fruits ripen by June, resembling large berries, probably why it is mistakenly known as a blackberry. The taste is sweet with a slightly sour and stringent quality. Eating the fruit will impart a purplish color to the mouth and the tongue.
The jambul fruit has many medicinal properties and has been used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic, Unani and Chinese medicine. Ayurvedic practitioners have for centuries used jambul to control diabetes and several other digestive disorders. The leaves and the bark of this tree have been used to treat high blood pressure.
Jambul fruit has a high nutritional content and is a rich source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and C as well as in calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It is also rich in dietary fiber, one of the reasons why it has been used as a popular remedy for piles or hemorrhoids.
Piles is a condition where the blood vessels of the rectum and the anus get inflamed. Piles may be either internal or external and can cause a lot of pain while defecating. At times, blood may be passed in the stools.
Piles is often caused by chronic constipation, often due to low dietary fiber. Jambul fruit has been used for centuries by traditional healers to treat piles, especially the kind that bleeds. To treat this condition, the fruit must be eaten along with salt in the morning. The treatment has to be continued every day for about 2 to 3 months in order to be effective.
However, people suffering from hypertension are advised not to try this remedy due to the high salt content.
answered by A S