Mahogany wood is known to be useful as a basic material for furniture. However, the benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit are no less than the wood. Thanks to the content in it, mahogany seeds and fruit have long been used as traditional medicine.
The benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit as herbal medicine are familiar. Derived from high nutritious plants that have the Latin name Swietenia macrophylla K, Mahogany seeds and fruit have been shown to improve body health while treating various chronic diseases.
Mahogany trees have tall and strong wood with broad leaves. The fruit is round like an egg and brown. Inside, there is a flat mahogany seed with a slightly thick tip. In each fruit, there are usually about 35-45 mahogany seeds.
Various Benefits of Mahogany Seeds and Fruits
The benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit come from the content of bioactive compounds that have hypolipidemic properties (lowers blood fat), antihypertensive, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-pain, antidiarrheal, and even antimalarial.
Thanks to the various contents of these natural compounds, there are many benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit that you should not miss, including:
1. Lowers blood pressure
One of the benefits of mahogany which is well known and has been used as herbal medicine is that it can lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. This is supported by the content of flavonoids as the main compound in it which has been shown to have an antihypertensive effect.
In addition, mahogany seeds also contain lots of potassium and little sodium, so they can help maintain normal blood pressure. Not only for people with hypertension, this property can also improve cardiovascular and nervous system function.
2. Lowering the level of fat in the blood
The benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit that are no less important are lowering fat levels. Consuming mahogany seed extract has been shown to reduce total cholesterol, bad cholesterol (LDL), and fat in the blood.
With these properties, the risk for cardiovascular disease, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, will also be reduced.
3. Treating diabetes
Another benefit that you can get from consuming mahogany seed or fruit extract is to lower and maintain blood sugar levels, especially if you have type 2 diabetes.
The content of natural compounds in mahogany seeds is known to inhibit the absorption of sugar in the intestine and is able to increase the production of the hormone insulin from the pancreas.
4. Treating malaria
Mahogany seeds are also known as a malaria drug. A study even shows that the decoction of mahogany seeds can kill the parasite that causes malaria, namely Plasmodium falciparum, who are already resistant to the drug chloroquine.
5. Kill cancer cells
Research shows that mahogany seed extract can kill several types of cancer cells, such as colorectal cancer cells and breast cancer cells, like chemotherapy. Thus, mahogany seed extract is thought to be useful for cancer treatment.
6. Fights infection
Benefits of seeds and other mahogany fruit is fighting infection. As mentioned above, mahogany seeds and fruit contain compounds that are antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral.
In one study, this was proven by the ability of mahogany seed extract to fight the growth of various bacteria and fungi that cause diseases, ranging from those that cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, to pneumonia.
Although the benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit for the health of the body are many, their effectiveness and safety level as a supplement or herbal medicine still need to be investigated further.
So if you do have the conditions previously mentioned, you are not advised to use mahogany seeds and fruit as the main treatment.
It's a good idea to consult with your doctor first regarding the consumption of mahogany seeds and fruit as additional therapy for the condition you are experiencing. That way, you can get the benefits of mahogany seeds and fruit safely, without interfering with the treatment you are undergoing.