APPLE: ITS MEDICAL USES

Scientific Name(s): Malus sylvestris Millsp. Family: Rosaceae (roses)

Common Name(s): Apple
Uses of Apple

Traditional uses include treatment for cancer, diabetes, fever, heart ailments, scurvy, and warts. Leaves, bark, and root contain antibacterials active in low concentrations. The large pectin content makes the fruit valuable for both constipation and diarrhea.
Apple Dosing

Procyanidins of apple have been studied for hair growth using a 1% topical formulation.
Contraindications

Contraindications have not yet been identified.
Pregnancy/Lactation

Generally recognized as safe or used as food. Avoid dosages above those found in food because safety and efficacy are unproven.
Apple Interactions

Apple juice decreases the absorption of fexofenadine, decreasing the AUC, peak plasma level, and urinary excretion of fexofenadine. It would be prudent for patients taking fexofenadine to avoid apple juice and to take the medication with water.
Apple Adverse Reactions

No data.
Toxicology

The seeds, which can liberate hydrogen cyanide, should not be consumed in large quantities.
Botany

The apple is a deciduous tree with simple clusters of flowers. The fruit is termed a “pome.” Apple trees are cultivated widely throughout the temperate climates of the world and the fruit is available broadly in commercial markets. 1 More than 1000 cultivars of apple have been identified. 2
History

The apple long has been recognized as a valuable food. Its uses in traditional medicine have been varied, including the treatment of cancer, diabetes, dysentery, fever, heart ailments, scurvy, and warts. 3 Apples also are said to be effective in cleaning the teeth. The fruit juice is drunk fresh, fermented as cider or as apple brandy. The wood of the apple tree is valued as a firewood.
Chemistry

Apple leaves, bark, and root contain an antibacterial substance (phloretin), which is active in vitro in low concentrations. 3 Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the form of the cyanogenic glycoside amygdalin, is found in the seeds. 1 , 3 In addition, the seeds contain a yellow semi-drying oil (glucoside phlorizin) with the odor of bitter almonds.

The fruit contains up to 17% pectin and pectic acids. A variety of other components, many of them with aromatic qualities, are found in apples, including tannins, quercetin, alpha-farnesene, shikimic acid, and chlorogenic acid. 3

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