Family • Sapotaceae

Chico
Achras zapota Linn.
CHIKU TREE
Ren xin guo

Scientific names Common names

Achras zapota Linn. Chico (Tag.)
Achras mammosa Linn. Chico sapote (Engl.)
Achras zapotilla (Jacq.) Nutt. Chicle (Engl.)
Sapota achras Mill. Chiku tree (Engl.)
Sapota zapotilla Coville Naseberry (Engl.)
Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg Sapodilla (Engl.)
Manilkara zapota (Linn.) van Royen

Other vernacular names

CHINESE: Ren xin guo.
FRENCH: Nèfle d'Amérique, Sapote, Sapotier, Sapotillier.
GERMAN: Breiapfel, Breiapfelbaum, Kaugummibaum , Sapote, Sapotille, Sapotillbaum.
JAPANESE: Sabojira, Sapojira.
KHMER: Lomut.
KOREAN: Kkom na mu.
LAOTIAN: Lamud.
MALAY: Ciku, Sawo londo (Indonesia), Sawo manila (Indonesia).
NEPALESE: Gudalu, Saapotaa.
SPANISH: Níspero, Sapote (Latin America), Zapote, Zapotillo.
THAI: Lámút farang
VIETNAMESE: Hông xiêm, Hong xuan dinh, Xabôchê.

Botany
Chico is a much-branched tree growing to a height of 8 meters. Leaves are oblong to narrowly oblong-
obovate, 8 to 13 centimeters in length, pointed at both ends. Flowers are hairy outside, 6 to 8 millimeters
long and 6-parted. Fruit is brown, fleshy, ovoid to round, 3 to 8 centimeters long, containing 5 or more
shiny blackish-brown seeds. Fleshy is brown, soft, slightly gritty, sweet, and very agreeable in flavor.
Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the Philippines.
- Introduced from tropical America in the early colonial period.
- Cultivated in the tropics.

Constituents
- Leaves contain a bitter principle alkaloid, sapotin 0.076%, fixed oil 1.45%, etc.
- Fruit also yields sapotin, 0.013%.
- Seeds yield sapotin, saponin, achrassaponin, an alkaloid, fixed-oil 16-23%, the bitter principle,
sapotinine 0.08%, etc.
- Bark contains sapotin, saponin, and tannin 11.8%.
- Gum chicle contains 75% resin, gum (arabin) 10%, calcium oxalate, sugar, etc.
- Fruit flesh yields saccharose 7%, dextrose 3.7%, and levulose 3.4%.
- Chemical composition analysis of
sapota juice showed it to be a rich
source of sugars, proteins, vitamin
C, phenolics, carotenoids and
minerals (iron, copper, zinc, calcium
and potassium).
- Phytochemical screening yielded
terpenoids, glycosides, and
flavonoid type compounds.
- Leaves studied for lipoidal
matters yielded fatty acids, of which
unsaturated fatty acids represented
32.32% of total FA, oleic acid
(13.95%), linoleidic acid (10.18%),
and linoleic acid (5.96%) were the
major ones. Isolated compounds
were lupeol acetate, oleanolic acid,
apigenin-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside,
myricetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside and
caffeic acid. (12)

Properties
- Seeds are aperient, diuretic, tonic,
and antipyretic.
- Sapotin considered a febrifuge.

Parts utilized:
Bark, seeds, fruit.

Uses
Folkloric
• Decoction of the bark used for
diarrhea and fever.
• Fruit soaked in melted butter overnight, is thought to be preventive for biliousness and fevers.
• Seed kernel oil used as skin ointment and as dressing for falling hair.
• In Mexico, used for kidney stones and rheumatism.
• In West Indies, seeds considered aperient and diuretic; the bark as tonic and febrifuge.
• In Cuba, seed infusion used as an eyewash.
• In Konkan, fruit soaked in melted butter overnight, considered an excellent preventive for biliousness
and febrile attacks.
• In Antilles, astringent fruit used for dysentery.
• Leaf decoction used for fever, hemorrhage, wounds and ulcers.
• For neuralgia, leaf with tallow or oil, applied as compress to the temples.
• Seeds used for fever; when ground with water, acts as diuretic.
• In Indonesia, flowers are one of the ingredients in a powder rubbed on the woman's body after
childbirth.
• In Cambodia, tannin from the bark used for diarrhea and fever.
Others
• Bark: Used for tanning sails and making fish tackle.
• Gum chicle: Derived from the bark juice, is used in the manufacture of chewing gum. Gum chicle is
also used for transmission belts, dental surgery, and a substitute for gutta-percha.
• Lambanog flavoring: fruit is also a popularly used in the aging of the coconut liquer, lambanog.

Related additional info

Latex is tapped only if the sapodilla is at least 20 to 25 years old. Each tapping yields only 21/2 pounds of
gum over a period of six hours; and trees are tapped only once in three or four years. (The Story of
Chewing Gum)

Caution !
Seeds contain hydrocyanic acid and should be removed before eating the fruit.

Studies
• Phytochemical: Triterpenoids, achras sapota, saponins, cotyledons, terpenes, terpenoids, non-polar
extracts: Study isolated 14 triterpenoids and five triterpenoidal saponins.
• Triterpenoid saponin / Antibacterial: Study isolated a new pentacyclic triterpenoids saponin along
with one known from the cotyledons of Achras sapota. Compound 2 showed antibacterial activity against
Gram positive and negative bacteria. (2)
• Antioxidant: Study showed zapota juice to have multiple radical-scavenging potential due to its
nutraceutical components, viz., phenolics carotenoids and ascorbic acid. (3)
• Antimicrobial: Study of extracts of stem bark and leaves showed activity against all pathogenic
bacteria in the study, including Aspergillus flavus, Vasianfactum sp and Fusarium sp.
• Antibacterial: Study showed the acetone extract of M. zapota seeds to be bactericidal. (8)
• Antioxidant / Hepatoprotective: Study of cold ethanolic extract of M. zapota leaves demonstrated
significant dose-dependent antioxidant activity. In a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver damage
model in rats, it exhibited hepatoprotective activity. (9)
• Anti-Tumor: Study of stem bark of M. zapota against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in Swiss albino mice
showed significant antitumour activity with increase in survival time and restored hematological
parameters. (10)
• Antidiabetic / Roots: Study evaluated an alcohol extract of A. zapota roots for antidiabetic
activity.Results showed increasing dosages of the alcohol extract caused increase in antidiabetic activity.
80g/kbw of fresh material was almost as strong as 100 mg/kbw of tolbutamide. (11)
• Triterpenoid Acyl Derivatives / Fruits / Antioxidant / Antihyperglycemic /
Hypocholesterolemic:Fruits yielded a new natural compound, β-amyrin-3-(3'-dimethyl) butyrate,
together with lupeol-3-acetate and 4-caffeoylquinic acid (cryptochlorogenic acid). The alcoholic and
aqueous extracts of unripe fruits, in addition to their aqueous homogenate showed antioxidant
antihyperglycemic, and hypocholesterolemic activities. (13)
• Antipyretic / Anti-Inflammatory / Leaves: Study evaluated extracts of leaves for anti-inflammatory and
anti-pyretic activities in albino Wistar rats. Crude ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts showed anti-
inflammatory activity with significant inhibition of paw edema. Both petroleum and EA fractions exhibited
significant anti-pyretic property. (14)
• Analgesic / Leaves: Study of petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts of M. zapota, using a hot plate
method, showed analgesic effect at doses of 200 mg/kg. (15)
Availability
Cultivated.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings

(1)
Triterpenoids, achras sapota, saponins, cotyledons, terpenes, tepenoids, non-
polar extracts
(2)
Saponins from the seeds of Achras sapota. / Rehana Ahmed et al / Journal of
Asian natural products research (J Asian Nat Prod Res) / 2008 Jan-Feb; vol
10 (issue 1-2) : pp 7-16 / DOI: 10.1080/10286020701276026
(3)
Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of sapota (Achras sapota linn.)
fruit / Anand P Kulkarni et al / Journal of food biochemistry / 2007, vol. 31,
no3, pp. 399-414
(4)
Achras sapota / AgroForestryTree Database
(5)
Preliminary Investigation of the Antibacterial Activity of Acalyphahispida Leaf
extracts against Local Bacterial isolates from skin infections / Okoh H I et al /
NigerianJournal of Health and Biomedical Sciences. Vol. 5, No 2, July
December
(6)
Sorting Manilkara names / Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher /
MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE
(7)
Antimicrobial Investigation on Manilkara zapota (L.) P. royen / M Abu Osman,
M Abdul Aziz, M Habib, M Rezaul Karim / International Journal of Drug
Development and Research, 2011, Vo l3, No1
(8)
In vitro antibacterial activity in seed extracts of Manilkara zapota, Anona
squamosa, and Tamarindus indica / Vijay Kothari and Sriram Seshadri / doi:
10.4067/S0716-97602010000200003 / Biol Res 43: 165-168, 2010
(9)
Antioxidant Activity of the Ethanol Extract of Manilkara zapota Leaf / M. E.
Islam, M. S. Parvin, M. R. Islam, M. S. Islam, S. M. R. Hasan / Journal of
Scientific Research, Vol 4, No 1 (2012)
(10)
Inhibition of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma by Manilkara zapota L. stem bark in
Swiss albino mice / M Abu Osman, M Mamunur Rashid, M Abdul Aziz, M
Rowshahul Habib, M Rezaul karim / Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical
Biomedicine, (2011)448-451/ doi:10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60098-1
(11)
Study on the antidiabetic activity extract of Achras zapota Linn. roots in rats /
Muhtadi, A.; Sumiwi, S.; Lestari, K. / Bionatura (2000, 2(2), pp 60-65
(12)
Chemical and biological study of Manilkara zapota (L.) Van Royen leaves
(Sapotaceae) cultivated in Egypt /
Fayek NM, Monem AR, Mossa MY, Meselhy MR, Shazly AH. /
Pharmacognosy Res. 2012 Apr;4(2):85-91./ doi: 10.4103/0974-8490.94723.
(13)
New triterpenoid acyl derivatives and biological study of Manilkara zapota (L.)
Van Royen fruits / Nesrin M. Fayek, Azza R. Abdel Monem, Mohamed Y.
Mossa, and Meselhy R. Meselhy / Pharmacognosy Res. 2013 Apr-Jun; 5(2):
55–59. / doi: 10.4103/0974-8490.110505
(14)
In-vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic activities of Manilkara zapota leaves
in albino Wistar rats / Amlan Ganguly, Zobaer Al Mahmud, Mir Muhammad
Nasir Uddin, SM Abdur Rahman* / Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2013; 3(4): 301-307 /
doi:10.1016/S2222-1808(13)60073-0
(15)
Evaluation of Analgesic Activity of Manilkara Zapota (Leaves) / Pankaj K Jain,
Prashant Soni, Neeraj Upmanyu and Yogesh Shivhare* / European Journal of
Experimental Biology, 2011, 1 (1):14-17