JUCA SOURSOP POWDER

Soursop Benefits

Soursop (the fruit and the leaves) contains many other antioxidants, including phytosterols, tannins, and flavonoids. Antioxidants play a role in your overall health and may help protect against a variety of health conditions. 

Other health benefits of soursop include:

Soursop and immune health

Soursop is high in vitamin C, an antioxidant known to boost immune health and improve its ability to defend against pathogens. Vitamin C also promotes the destruction of free radicals, which can help protect your skin and cells from environmental oxidative damage. One soursop fruit contains about 129 milligrams of vitamin C, which is about 172% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C for women and 143% for men. 

May improve digestive health

Fiber is vital for your digestive health and helps promote regularity and prevent issues such as constipation. The recommended daily allowance for fiber is about 14 grams for every 1,000 calories — which translates to about 25 grams per day for women and about 38 grams per day for men. One whole soursop fruit contains about 21 grams of fiber, which gets you close to that RDA.

Potential anticarcinogenic effects

In the future, soursop extract may be an alternative or complementary therapy to other cancer drugs, but we need more research. One systematic review showed that the extract of Annona muricata (scientific name of soursop) is full of bioactive compounds, including acetogenins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and alkaloids. Researchers say these compounds have the "ability to decrease the growth of cancer." 

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While these results sound promising, the research was based on test-tube and animal studies, not on humans. Other studies have similar findings, but they were also laboratory-based. If you want to use soursop extract as complementary to your current cancer treatment, discuss it first with your health care team, including your oncologist, as some supplements can change the way cancer medicines work.

May fight inflammation

Antioxidants fight free radicals, reducing the damage to your cells caused by oxidative stress. One of the side effects of oxidative stress is inflammation. The antioxidants in soursop may, therefore, help reduce inflammation in the body.

May stabilize blood pressure

High blood pressure may lead to serious issues such as heart disease and heart attack. Sodium intake is a key factor leading to high blood pressure. Potassium helps your body get rid of sodium and eases the tension in the walls of your blood vessels, both of which can help lower your blood pressure. A whole soursop fruit offers approximately one-third to one-half of your recommended daily allowance of potassium.

May fight against bacteria

Soursop may provide antibacterial effects. One study found that an extract may be able to kill many different types of bacteria, including strains that cause gum disease and cavities. Another study found that soursop extracts may help fight cholera and staphylococcus bacteria. While these were test-tube studies, the results are promising, and further research is needed. 

May lower blood sugar levels

Soursop extract has been shown to reduce blood sugar in several studies on animals. In one study where diabetic rats received a daily dose of soursop extract for 28 days, the rats had reduced blood glucose levels. Results from a separate study on diabetic mice were equally promising. They showed that low doses of soursop extract lowered the mice's fasting blood glucose levels, HbA1c (a test that measures average blood sugar over the previous two to three months), insulin resistance, and hepatic lipid profiles. The mice also showed improvement in their insulin signaling. We still need more research to know how these results would translate to humans.

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May treat ulcers

Soursop extract may show promise for treating gastric ulcers. A review of 49 research articles from 1981 to 2021 showed that soursop's high concentration of flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids made it a popular traditional medicine to treat gastrointestinal issues, including ulcers. One study using soursop leaves to treat ulcers in rats reduced the ulcers and suppressed gastric acid that can damage the mucus membrane lining the walls of the stomach, similar to proton pump inhibitors. But we still don't have enough research to know if this would be effective in humans. 

May aid weight loss

In a study using adult mice, researchers test whether soursop extract could be used to treat some of the symptoms of obesity. The results showed that mice who were given a high-fat diet, and then supplemented with doses of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg soursop extract had significant reduction in body weight compared to the mice that weren't given the extract, even though they didn't have a reduced caloric intake. The study authors said they believe it confirms soursop leaf tea can help reduce body weight, but should be studied further in humans. 

Soursop in Traditional Medicine

The phytochemicals in soursop have made it a popular herbal treatment in traditional medicine for a long time. Its leaves been used to make tea to treat a wide range of health conditions and ailments, including: 

• Bacterial or parasite infections
• Fever 
• High blood sugar
• High blood pressure 
• Inflammation 
• Anxiety 
• Cancer
• Digestive problems 
• Pain 
• Cough 
• Asthma

Soursop extract hasn't been proven as a curative for any of these in humans, so if you want to use it as a supplement, talk to your doctor first.

Soursop Leaves Benefits

Often used to make tea, soursop leaves are dark green and glossy. They're loaded with antioxidants, which help your immune system. In vitro studies show the leaves might help with things such as:

• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Abscesses
• Ulcers
• Certain cancers

But we need more studies to confirm these results in people.