Pineapple - Ananas comosus

Common Names: Pineapple, Ananas comosus, ananas sativus, edible pineapple, Bromelia ananas, Bromelain, Bromelains, la piña, piña, ananá, ananás, generic ananas, common pineapple, piña de Indes, global pineapple

Latin Name: Ananas comosus

Origin: Asia, Europe, South America

Short Introduction

Pineapple thrives best in highland continental tropics with nighttime temperatures between 15–18°C and daytime temperatures around 25°C. When grown indoors, the plant prefers summer temperatures of 21–25°C and winter temperatures of about 18–21°C, but not lower. Although pineapple is a light-loving plant, it prefers sunny or partly shaded spots, but not continuous direct sunlight all day long.

Cooler nighttime temperatures induce mass flowering, leading to a single harvest period. Pineapple prefers sandy, well-drained soils with ample humus, as it has a weak root system. The optimal pH is slightly acidic, ranging from 5.5 to 6.2. In tropical climates, the seeds remain viable for several months.

For home cultivation, leafy crowns are used, which can be obtained by cutting them from the fruit, trimming, and allowing the cut to dry to prevent infection. Once the cut area has completely dried, the crown can be planted and watered in soil. On plantations, pineapples are grown in double rows: spacing within a row is about 30 cm, between rows is 50 cm, and between sets of rows about 100 cm. After the first harvest, the fruit is broken off and the plant may flower again on one of the other side rosettes.

In non-native environments, pre-treatment (such as with sulfuric acid) may be required. Seedlings can be transplanted into soil at 15–18 months old and reach productivity at about 16–30 months. However, sexual propagation is not favored for commercial cultivation.

On plantations, vegetative propagation—by rosettes or stem cuttings—is highly favored. Harvesting is done by hand or with machinery, about 2–3 weeks before full maturity, when fruits are still green.

Pineapple matures after about 12–16 months, and one plant can fruit up to 3 times, so a plantation usually has a productive lifespan of about 5 years. After this, it's replaced. Pineapple can be grown in pure stands or alongside crops such as banana, papaya, or beneath long-lived trees like rubber, avocado, or mango. As a xerophytic plant, pineapple manages water very efficiently and can be grown in low rainfall zones (50–200 cm annually).

In 2013, world pineapple production reached 24.9 million tons, with Costa Rica as the main producer (supplying about three-quarters of the European market). Other leading producers include Brazil, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Detailed Description

A tropical fruit rich in healing enzymes.

Botanical Information

Pineapple plants reach 70–150 cm in height (sometimes taller) and about 75 cm in width. The plant features a short stem with waxy leaves. At the base, leaves form a stiff, fleshy, sword-shaped rosette, 90–130 cm long, sometimes smooth, with finely serrated edges.

A stout, 30 cm tall stem rises from the rosette's center and ends in a large cone surrounded by tough bracts, in whose axils can grow 50–200 small, blue to purplish-red bisexual flowers arranged in a cluster with tubular corollas. Leaf rosettes sprout from buds. Daughter rosettes, known as slips or pups, can develop across the plant and are used for vegetative propagation.

Pollination sometimes occurs via insects or hummingbirds. After flowering, berries develop and gradually fuse with the stem and bracts into the fleshy aggregate fruit known as "pineapple," which ripens around 3 months after flowering. However, fruiting also occurs without pollination. The mature fruit weighs 0.5–3.5 kg, with up to 70% of its weight as edible flesh, up to 25% as skin, and the remainder as the crown and central core. The flesh is juicy, tasty, white to yellowish, and pleasantly fragrant. Pineapple seeds are covered by a hard coat and tough endosperm.

Origin and Distribution

Pineapple is native to South America, though its precise origin is uncertain. Some sources point to the area between Brazil and Paraguay, specifically the Paraná River in Paraguay. Indigenous peoples from southern Brazil and Paraguay spread pineapple cultivation throughout South America, reaching the Caribbean, Latin America, and Mexico, where it was domesticated by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations.

Christopher Columbus first encountered pineapple in 1493 on Guadeloupe, calling it piña de Indes (pineapple of the Indians), and brought it to Spain. The Spanish then introduced it to the Philippines, Hawaii (introduced in the early 19th century, cultivated commercially from 1886, though some sources state the early 16th century), Guam, the Azores, Australia, Malaysia, and Zimbabwe. The Portuguese brought pineapple to India in 1550. In Northern Europe, Dutch traders first imported pineapple from Suriname's colonies.

The first pineapple grown in Europe may have been in 1658 in Meerburg by Pieter de la Court. The first English-grown pineapple was planted in Chelsea in 1723. In France, Louis XV cultivated pineapple at Versailles in 1733. Catherine the Great regularly ate pineapple until her death in 1796. Because of the high costs associated with growing, shipping, and caring for pineapples, the fruit quickly became a symbol of wealth and was often displayed as decoration at aristocratic gatherings rather than eaten.

John Kidwell is credited with bringing pineapple to Hawaii, where commercial cultivation began in the late 19th century under major American agricultural companies. The best-known growers included James Dole (Dole Food Co.) and Maui Pineapple Company, which started operations on Oahu in 1901 and 1917 respectively. Today, only Dole Plantation continues commercial pineapple production on Oahu, now representing about 0.1% of global exports.

Usage / Dosage

The fibers from pineapple leaves, known as piña, are produced in the Philippines and woven into traditional formal wear—the Barong Tagalog for men and Baro’t saya for women. This material is also used for decorations and furniture. Pineapple leaf fibers are also utilized for specialty papers, as composite materials when combined with polyethylene, and can be grown as ornamental plants.

Pineapple can be eaten fresh, cooked, blended, or canned, and features in a variety of dishes worldwide. It is also candied, dried, or frozen. Pineapple is used to make jams, syrups, jellies, juices, nectars, and alcoholic beverages, such as chicha in South America and the popular piña colada in Central America.

Pineapple contains the proteolytic enzyme bromelain—technically a mixture of sulfhydryl proteolytic enzymes and various components (phosphatases, glucosidases, peroxidases, cellulases, and glycoproteins). Extracts also contain proteinase inhibitors.

Bromelain is used for reducing inflammatory swelling, especially in the nose and sinuses following surgery or injury. It’s also commonly applied for hay fever, irritable bowel syndrome with inflammation and ulceration, removal of dead tissue after burns, prevention of pulmonary edema, muscle relaxation and supporting muscle contraction, slowing clot formation, enhancing antibiotic absorption, cancer prevention, and supporting fat burning.

Clinical studies with children suffering from acute sinusitis administered bromelain in capsule form or placebo, reporting symptom reduction. Similar results were observed in other clinical trials.

Animal research has shown that bromelain applied to the skin may help remove dead skin from 3rd-degree burns. For humans, benefits are seen for 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns. This wound cleaning is called debridement. Local application of pineapple-derived preparations helped separate living tissue from burned areas during healing. Research reports show that debridement completed in two days without adverse effects on healthy tissue.

Reviews of bromelain for edema, pain, and healing time after surgery or trauma have demonstrated reduced analgesic use and reduction of swelling after fracture repairs and dental surgery.

Bromelain combined with trypsin and rutin is commercially available for osteoarthritis. Evidence suggests that bromelain helps reduce pain and improve knee function in arthritis, comparable to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or diclofenac.

Some evidence supports bromelain’s ability to reduce acute mild knee pain that lasted under three months in otherwise healthy individuals. For hip osteoarthritis, a six-week trial showed effects from bromelain-trypsin combos comparable to diclofenac.

Animal studies tested anti-edematous effects of bromelain administered orally or intraperitoneally, compared to anti-inflammatories (prednisone, etodolac, acetylsalicylic acid, oxyphenbutazone, indomethacin). Its anti-inflammatory effect is thought to stem from increased tissue permeability and fluid reabsorption, likely due to enhanced fibrinolysis.

In the laboratory, bromelain has shown the ability to kill certain viruses and bacteria, and strong antifungal activity (notably against Trichoderma viridae). There is also published evidence of its antihelminthic effect.

Some studies describe a potential for bromelain to destroy cancer cells and enhance chemotherapy effects. Pineapple juice reduces the mutagenic activity of carcinogens (Salmonella typhimurium) by about 50%. In vitro work showed bromelain’s dose-dependent inhibition of tumor cell proliferation. One publication described the ability of bromelain to reduce adhesion, migration, and invasion of glioma cells without affecting healthy cells.

In two animal tumor-growth models, bromelain reduced local tumor weight but did not prevent lung colonization. Melanoma cells pretreated with bromelain led to reduced numbers and mass of metastatic tumors in the lungs but no survival benefit was observed.

Pineapple consumption inhibits endogenous nitrosation in humans, likely due to ascorbic acid, which limits formation of potentially toxic metabolites. Clinical data include reports of cancer patients taking high doses of bromelain, sometimes together with fluorouracil and vincristine in therapy.

In animal models, bromelain pretreatment was associated with reduced incidence of diarrhea and gastric issues following exposure to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Case studies show successful use of bromelain alongside conventional therapy for mild ulcerative colitis with significant symptom reduction and clinical improvement, as confirmed by endoscopy.

Research indicates bromelain modulates T and B cells in immune responses, blocks extracellular regulated kinase-2 activation in T cells, and activates macrophages and natural killer cells. In mice, bromelain pretreatment increased B cell concentrations and reduced interleukin-2, suggesting an enhanced antibody response. Thus, bromelain is assumed to modulate immune reactions. In a small clinical study of eight patients, bromelain given for three months helped reduce symptoms of a mysterious rash, with described anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.

Other animal models confirmed diuretic (fluid eliminating), mild hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, anti-aggregant, and partial hypocholesterolemic effects of high-dose pineapple extract without a clear mechanism.

Traditional Medicine

For centuries, pineapple has been consumed throughout Central and South America to aid digestion and to reduce inflammation. It is often used to reduce symptoms of tendon inflammation, sprains, and strained muscles.

In folk and especially indigenous medicine, pineapple stem juice was used as a remedy for inflammation, warts, sprains, tumors, as a diuretic, antiparasitic (especially for amoebas), and widely as an abortifacient. Pineapple was also highly favored to support weight loss, suppress appetite, and as a preventive for stomach ulcers.

Juice from unripe pineapples was seen as a strong laxative, and pineapple fruit was popular with sailors for treating scurvy. Folk medicine also used pineapple leaf decoctions for urinary tract infections and venereal diseases.

Consuming pineapple in standard food quantities is entirely safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Excessive intake only appears in historical references and folk knowledge—no modern toxicity data exists. Bromelain intake exceeding 2500 mg per day may cause vomiting, increased heart rate, and nausea—though it's highly unlikely to reach such levels through pineapple consumption.

Allergies

People allergic to latex, grains, celery, papaya, carrot, or pollen may be sensitive to pineapple. Pineapple allergy appears to result from bromelain or profilin proteins and is often experienced as a tingling or unpleasant sensation on the tongue.

Precautions

Natural pineapple is generally safe for children, as its bromelain content is very low. However, bromelain supplements in capsules are not recommended for children. Large amounts of pineapple should be avoided two weeks prior to surgery and while taking medications such as amoxicillin, warfarin, clopidogrel, aspirin, phenytoin, barbiturates, zolpidem, and tricyclic antidepressants.

Active Compounds

Pineapple fruit contains gallic, gentisic, malic, oleic, ferulic, isoferulic, o-coumaric, palmitic, citric, protocatechuic, sinapic, stearic, oxalic, 3-hydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, linoleic, trans-methoxycinnamic, chlorogenic, and p-coumaroylquinic acids.

It also includes vanillin, taxifolin, genistin, syringaldehyde, epicatechin, quercitrin, ethyl acetate, kaempferol, myricetin, chavicol, tyramine, alanine, arginine, asparagine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, methionine, cysteine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and arbutin. Pineapple contains significant amounts of polyphenols, vitamin E, vitamin A, and B-complex vitamins.

100 g of pineapple provides substantial manganese (up to 44% of the daily requirement) and vitamin C (58% of the daily requirement), with an energy value of around 205 kJ. Two slices deliver about 100 mg of vitamin C.

Traditional Dosage

According to German health authorities, the recommended dose of bromelain is 80–320 mg 2–3 times daily. For digestive stimulation, tissue repair after injury, or arthritis, 500–2000 mg 2–4 times daily may be used. Therapeutic use of pineapple can thus benefit from higher fruit consumption. The usual dose of bromelain is about 40 mg, taken 3–4 times daily. No specific dosage of pineapple fruit is established.