Quote:
Originally Posted by chong
Just to let everyone know that although I was making light of the news from Richard, regarding the risks associated with the consumption of Guanabana, I actually am taking it very seriously. Things like this I take very seriously. Like for example, before, I used to take Tylenol quite often because I could not take Aspirin due to stomach ulcers.
Well, since the early seventies, I stopped taking them after reading of 2 professional players develop liver problems because of Tylenol. I realize that that may be extreme. But I haven't taken it till now, even after some dental work several weeks ago, my dentist told me to take Tylenol for the pain when the Novocaine wore off. I asked him for Vicoden instead but he said that I shouldn't need it. So, I asked for some Tylenol from the Boeing clinic, but never took them, and preferred to endure the pain that afternoon and through the night.
So, for me, Guanabana is out. Now, I have to check on whether this applies to other annonas family plants, e.g., Sweetsop, Atemoya, Cherimoya, etc.
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Chong,
There is quite a bit of controversy in how much annonacins are present in the fruit portion of other Annona species. I have taken the position to not ingest them until there are studies showing insignificant levels. Analyzing a good portion of the edible fruits of Annona genus for annonacin levels would be an excellent way for a graduate student to earn a masters degree. So far the reaction in the U.S. community has been mostly dismissive and degenerated into "armchair bantering".
I do know that tests several decades ago by Julia Morton's colleagues showed that A. cherimoya and A. muricata were chemically equivalent within a few percent. I showed this to a colleague at the Neurosciences institute who immediately banned his family from eating them. A recent report also cited significant levels of annonacins in the common pawpaw.
Annonacins are being evaluated by the U.S. FDA as a cancer drug -- but note this would be for a specific interval of time in targeted areas of the body. Much of the research on levels of annonacins in Annona species focuses on levels in the bulk plant because the pharmaceutical industry is set up for extraction by distillation. Consequently, to learn about levels in fruits we must resort to having the fruit tested ourselves. HarveyC is considering investigating this in his area.