Pineapple (Ananas comosus).Plant Part Used: Fruit, fruit rind.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Fruit: juice, taken orally as a diuretic for urinary tract or kidney disorders, cleansing the body internally, for treating bacterial infection, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, menopausal hot flashes; fruit rind: fermented in sugar and water for internally cleansing and refreshing the body.Safety: Commonly consumed as food; relatively nontoxic; repeated exposure can cause hypersensitivity.Contraindications: Caution advised during pregnancy due to possible abortifacient effects of plant steroids.Drug Interactions: For bromelain (protease enzymes from stem): antibiotics, tetracyclines (elevated drug serum levels), anticoagulants and thrombocyte aggregation inhibitors (increased bleeding).Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: antidiabetic, antioxidant, antidyslipidemic (ethanolic leaf extract); antifertility (unripe fruit juice); burn debridement (bromelain—stem enzymes); diuretic (root extract).In vitro: antitumor (bromelain—stem enzymes).* See entry for Piña in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.
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