Dejiang Kiwifruit

Dejiang Kiwifruit

　　Kiwifruit is a wild, climbing fruit tree native to China. The Tang Dynasty text "Supplement to Materia Medica" records: "Kiwifruit tastes salty and warm, is non-toxic, and can be used medicinally. It is mainly used to treat joint wind, paralysis, chronic white hair, hemorrhoids, and more." The Ming Dynasty's Li Shizhen in "Compendium of Materia Medica" described kiwifruit as "shaped like a pear, colored like a peach, and loved by monkeys, hence its various names. People in Fujian call it 'yangtao'." In the United States, it is called "Chinese gooseberry"; in New Zealand, it is known as kiwifruit (RiwFruits); in the UK, it is called "Chinese gooseberry," and in Japan, it is referred to as "Chinese monkey pear." In Guizhou, it is called "mountain goat peach," and commonly known as "horse dung fruit."

　　Chinese kiwifruit is large in size, with individual fruits weighing between 70 to 100 grams. The skin is yellowish-brown and densely covered with fine hairs, resembling horse droppings, hence the name "horse dung fruit." The flesh is green, yellow, or light yellow, with light-colored stripes when cut horizontally. The core is white or light yellow, and the seeds are dark brown or purplish-brown. The fruit is particularly high in vitamin C, typically containing 100 to 200 milligrams per 100 grams of fresh fruit, with some varieties reaching up to 420 milligrams—3 to 14 times that of oranges, 2 to 8 times that of sweet oranges, 17 to 70 times that of peaches, 20 to 84 times that of apples, and 30 to 140 times that of pears. It contains 8–14% sugar and 1–4.2% total acid, along with 12 types of amino acids such as leucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, isoleucine, valine, alanine, aminobutyric acid, and hydroxybutyric acid. It also contains kiwifruit alkaloid, proteolytic enzymes, tannins, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, and other mineral elements. According to clinical experience of medical practitioners, kiwifruit is acidic, sweet, and cold in nature, and is effective in regulating digestion, promoting fluid production, moistening dryness, reducing fever, and relieving restlessness. It is used to treat hepatitis, indigestion, loss of appetite, vomiting, burns, and vitamin C deficiency. In recent years, some medical institutions have used fresh kiwifruit and its juice in clinical trials, finding it to have certain preventive or auxiliary therapeutic effects on leprosy, digestive tract cancers, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. The Guizhou Fruit Tree Research Institute has cultivated 17 superior strains from wild kiwifruit, with the largest single fruit weighing over 100 grams. At the 1984 National Kiwifruit Scientific Evaluation Conference, its quality and flavor ranked first in the country. Besides being eaten fresh, the fruit can also be processed into juice, wine, jam, dried fruit, jelly, powder (crystals), and more, making it a high-grade nutritious food. (Tongren)