Lychee: A Member of Soapberry Family

Lychee is the only member placed in the genus Litchi under the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is a tropical and subtropical tree which is native to China but now cultivated in all parts of the world. The fresh fruit bears a delicate, whitish pulp with a perfume flavor. The flavor is almost lost in canning so the fruit is generally eaten fresh. It is an evergreen tree attaining a height of 10-20 m and the fruits measure 5 cm in length and 4 cm in width. The fruit is covered by a pinkish-red and rough textured rind which is inedible and can be easily removed. The inner part of the fruit bears sweet and translucent flesh. They are consumed in a large number of desserts and are most popularly consumed in China, throughout South-East Asia, along with South Asia.

Their cultivation began somewhat 2000 BC in China. The bark of the tree is grayish black while the branches are brownish-red. Leaves are borne in leaflets of 2-4 pairs and measure 10-25 cm in length. The flowers grow on terminal inflorescence with many panicles. The panicles also grow in cluster which is 10-40 cm in length. The panicles bear hundreds of white, yellow or green flowers with characteristic fragrance. Fruits attain maturity in about 80-112 days depending upon the climate, location, and cultivar. The fruit is generally an aril. Different cultivars of lychee are popular in the varying growing regions and countries

Lychees are generally marketed as fresh. The rind becomes dark brown when refrigerated but the taste remains unaffected. They are also sold as canned fruits. The dried lychees are marketed under the trade name lychee nut but they are not nuts. Each 100 grams of lychee provides about 66 kilocalories of energy. Each 100 gram of fruit contains about 72 mg of Vitamin C. on an average nine lychee fruits can meet an adult's daily recommended Vitamin C requirement. A cup of lychee fruits provide copper, phosphorus and potassium. They contain lower amounts of saturated fats and sodium and are totally cholesterol free. Most the fruit is rich in carbohydrates. They are rich in polyphenols and are known to contain about 15% higher levels of polyphenols as compared to that of the grapes. Flavan-3-ol monomers and dimmers are the major contributors of the polyphenolic compounds in lychees. They are also known to contain anthocyanins and the major among them is Cyanidin-3-glucoside which contributes to about 91.9%. Small amounts of malvidin-3-glucoside are also found.

Navodita Maurice

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