Abstract

A REVIEW LITERATURE ON HYLOCERUS POLYRHIZUS (DRAGON FRUIT)

K. N. Venkateswara Rao*, Dakoji Sneha, Gadari Sumanth and Jukuri Ganga Bhavani

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Abstract

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) or pitaya is an exotic tropical plant that belongs to the family of Cactaceae. Dragon fruit is gaining popularity in the market for consumption of fresh fruit due to its highly attractive fruit colour with nutritional and immense bioactive potential that reduces blood sugar levels, cholesterol, prevention of liver injuries, cancer, etc. It became an interesting subject for many researchers mainly due to its unique taste, shape and the flesh colour. Dragon fruit own a range of beneficial biological activities against pathogenic microbes including bacteria, fungi and viruses, and diseases like diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidaemia and cancer. This article reports about a complete data on pharmacognostic studies, traditional uses, Nutrient value phytochemistry studies, pharmacological studies till date. The red variety of dragon fruit has many pharmacological uses like anticancer, antioxidant, antiulcer, etc. which will be detailly revealed.

Keywords: Hylocereus polyrhizus, tropical fruit, peel, phytochemistry, antioxidant, pharmacological studies.