Rambutan | What is Rambutan Fruit | Rambutan Fruit Health Benefits

Rambutan | What is Rambutan Fruit | What are the Health Benefits of Rambutan Fruit | Varieties and Uses of Rambutan Fruit Nutritional Value of Rambutan Fruit

The rambutan (pronounced /ræmˈbuːtən/, Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and the fruit of this tree. It is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan, and Mamoncillo.

It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian, Filipino and Malay literally means hairy caused by the ‘hair’ that covers this fruit. In Thailand the fruit is known as ngoh (เงาะ). In Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino. There is a second species regularly for sale at Malay markets which is known as “wild” rambutan. It is a little smaller than the usual red variety and is colored yellow. The outer skin is peeled exposing the fleshy fruit inside which is then eaten. It is sweet, sour and slightly grape like to the taste.

The rambutan is a medium sized tree producing a red or yellow fruit round to oval in shape. Its thin, leathery rind is covered with tubercles from each of which extends a soft, fleshy, red, pinkish, or yellow spine 1/5 to 3/4 in long. It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 10–20 m.

The leaves are alternate, 10–30 cm long, pinnate, with 3-11 leaflets, each leaflet 5–15 cm wide and 3-10 cm broad, with an entire margin.

The flowers are small, 2.5–5 mm, apetalous, discoidal, and borne in erect terminal panicles 15–30 cm wide.

The somewhat hairlike covering is responsible for the common name of the fruit, which is based on the Malay word “rambut”, meaning “hair”.

Within is the white or rose-tinted, translucent, juicy, sweet flesh, adhering to the oblong seed. The rambutan has a small crop in June – July and a heavy crop in November to January.

There are many different varieties of Rambutan. In some varieties, the flesh is more clingstone than others.

Ten of the best varieties in south-east Asia have been

1. Alindog
2. Bituin
3. Dalisay
4. Divata
5. Maharlika
6. Marikit
7. Marilag
8. Paraluman
9. Seematjan
10. Seenjonja

Varieties being grown in Australia include Classic Red, Pink, Rongrien, R9 and Yellow. In China and India, a variety called “Seelengkeng” is popular because of its greater similarity to the lychee.

* The rambutan fruit is eaten raw, made into jams or is cooked.

* The fruit, canned in syrup is directly eaten off the can too.

* In 1886, wine made of the fruit was put up in an exhibition in London. However, its recipe is unknown and its production is believed to have stopped soon after.

* The seeds are sometimes roasted and eaten.

Rambutan fruit contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, phosphorus, iron, calcium and vitamin C. Skin tanin and fruits contain saponin. The seeds contain fat and polifenol. The leaves contain tannin and saponin. Skin stem contains tannin, saponin, flavonida, pectic substances, and iron.

There are usually a light brown seeds are high in some Fats and oils (mainly oleic acid and eicosanoic acid) valuable to industry, and is used in cooking and the manufacture of soap. Rambutans roots, bark, and leaves have various uses in the production of dyes and drugs.
Part of this plant can be used as a medicinal fruit and have benefits for health such as

Reduce Body Fat:
Take some rambutan seeds eaten raw, or destroyed, and mashed and mixed with other food and eat.

Make skin softer face:
Same way above where some rambutan seeds eaten raw, or destroyed, and mashed and mixed with other food, and eat.

Hair care:
Capture some of the rambutan leaves, washed, and destroy until smooth. Little water added, and stirred into the dough flat until pasty. Then with the filtered piece cloth. Water collected is used to damp scalp. This is done every day to see the results.

Treat dysentery:
Skin of rambutan fruit (10 fruit) to be washed, and cut-cut as necessary. Then added 3 glass of drinking water, then boiled water until the remaining half. After a cold, strained and drunk 2 times a day, each glass three-quarters.

Treat diabetes:
Rambutan seed (5 seeds) dry fried (sangria), and mashed up into powder. Then move to the cup. After the cold water while drunk. Perform 1-2 times a day.

Cure fever:
Rambutan skin that has been dried (15 g) washed. Then added 3 glass of water, then boiled until boiling for 15 minutes. After a cold, strained and drunk 3 times a day, each third section.