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The 'Ackee' or 'Akee' (''Blighia sapida'') is a member of the Sapindaceae (soapberry family), native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.^[1]
It is related to the Lychee and the Longan, and is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The leaves are pinnate,^[2] leathery, compound, 15–30 centimetres long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad.

The flowers are unisexual and fragrant. They have five petals, are greenish-white^[3] and bloom during warm months.^[4] The fruit is pear-shaped. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—arilli.The fruit typically weighs 100–200 grams.
The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh, of the HMAV Bounty who is said to have introduced the fruit from West Africa (from present-day Guinea) to the Caribbean islands, and specifically to Jamaica in 1793. Contrary to popular belief it is was in fact Dr. Thomas Clark who first imported the fruit to Jamaica in 1778.^[5] Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world. The term 'ackee' originated from the Twi language.^[6] Other names and variant spellings include 'Ackee', 'Akee', 'akee apple', 'Achee', or ''vegetable brain''.

Contents

Cultivation and uses

Ackee poisoning

Economic importance

References

External links

Cultivation and uses

Although native to West Africa, consumption of ackee for food takes place mainly in Jamaican cuisine, where ''ackee and saltfish'' is the national dish. Salted dried cod is sautéed with ackee (boiled), onions, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and may be garnished with crisp bacon and fresh tomatoes.
Ackee was first introduced to Jamaica and later to Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Barbados and others. It has been later introduced to Florida in the United States.
The oil of the ackee arils contains many important nutrients, especially fatty acids. Linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids are the primary fatty acids found in the fruit.^[7] Ackee oil makes an important contribution to the diet of many Jamaicans.
The dried seeds, fruit bark and leaves are used medicinally. Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops The fruit is used to produce soap in some parts of Africa. It is also used as a fish poison.^[8]

Ackee poisoning

Closed Ackee Fruit

The fruit of the Ackee is not edible in entirety. It is only the fleshy arils around the seeds that are edible; the remainder of the fruit and seeds are poisonous. The fruit must only be picked after it has opened naturally, and it must be fresh and not overripe. Immature and overripe ackee fruit are also poisonous. The fruit, even when ripe, is a cause of Jamaican vomiting sickness, characterized by vomiting and hypoglycemia.
The unripened or inedible portions of the fruit contain the toxins hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B. Hypoglicin A is found in both the seeds and the arilli, while hypoglycin B is found only in the seeds. Hypoglycin is converted in the body to methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid (MCPA). Hypoglycin and MCPA are both toxic. MCPA inhibits several enzymes involved in the breakdown of acyl CoA compounds. Hypoglycin binds irreversibly to coenzyme A and carnitine reducing their bioavailability and consequently inhibiting beta oxidation of fatty acids. Beta oxidation normally provides the body with ATP, NADH and acetyl CoA which is used to supplement the energy produced by glycolysis. Glucose stores are consequently depleted leading to hypoglycemia.^[9]

Economic importance

The ackee fruit is canned and is a major export product in Jamaica. In 2005 the ackee industry was valued at $400 million in the island.^[10] The importing of canned ackee into the U.S. has at times been restricted due to unripe ackee arilli being included. However, it is currently allowed, provided that the amount of hypoglycin present meets the standards of the Food and Drug Administration.
In 2005 the first commercial shipments of canned ackee from Haiti were approved by the US-FDA for shipment to the US market.¹² The canning plant in Port-au-Prince is supplied with fruit from three commercial orchards on the outskirts of the city.

References

1. GRIN/NPGS Taxonomy information
2. Intoxications of the Nervous System, , , , Elsevier Science B.V., 1995, ISBN 0-444-81284-9
3. The Tropical Look, , Robert, Riffle, Timber Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88192-422-9
4. Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation, , Kristen, Llamas, Timber Press, 2003, ISBN 0-88192-585-3
5. This is Jamaica
6. The World in So Many Words, , Allan, Metcalf, , 1999, ISBN 0-395-95920-9
7. Jamaican Ackee
8. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, , James, Duke, , 2002, ISBN 0-8493-1284-1
9. Introduction to Clinical Nutrition, , Vishwanath, SarDesai, Marcel Dekker Inc., 2003, ISBN 0-8247-4093-9
10. Viable Ackee Industry must be Protected- BSJ Inspector

12. http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia2111.html

External links

★ The Ackee Fruit (Blighia Sapida) and its Associated Toxic Effects - a review from the Science Creative Quarterly

★ Fruits of Warm Climates: Ackee

★ Blighia sapida (Sapindaceae)