Jujube
A plant belonging to the Rhamnaceae family, found from southern Europe (Almansa 2016) to southern and eastern Asia.
Very rich in sugar, mucilage and vitamins - especially vitamin C - this fruit has been consumed for food since ancient times in several cultures, especially in Asia (Shad 2015, Rodriguez 2017).
Traditional Chinese, Korean and Persian medicine (Guo 2015, Zhang 2010) use fruits, leaves and bark, attributing to them numerous properties (Yeung 2012), none of which have been scientifically proven (WHO 2007: p.359-369, Tahergorabi 2015).
The juice of the fruit has been used to treat neonatal jaundice without causing significant side effects (Ebrahimimd 2011).
Since the last update we have not found published data on its excretion in breast milk.
Free of toxicity, moderate consumption during breastfeeding would have little or no risk.
Precautions when taking plant preparations:
1. Ensure that they are from a reliable source: poisoning has occurred due to confusing one plant with another with toxic properties, as well as poisoning from heavy metals extracted from the ground and food poisoning due to contamination with bacteria or fungi.
2. Do not take in large amounts; follow recommendations from professional experts in phytotherapy. "Natural" products are not always good in any quantity: plants contain active substances from which much of our traditional pharmacopoeia has been obtained and can result in poisoning or act as endocrine disruptors if taken in excessive amounts or time periods.
Very Low Risk
Compatible. Not risky for breastfeeding or infant.
Low Risk
Moderately safe. Mild risk possible. Follow up recommended. Read the Comment.
High Risk
Poorly safe. Evaluate carefully. Use a safer alternative. Read the Comment.
Very High Risk
Not recommended. Cessation of breastfeeding or alternative.
Synonyms
- Chinese Date
- Red Date
Writings
- Ziziphus jujuba (Latin, botanical name)
- Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (Latin, another name)
- Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (Latin, another name)
- Zizyphus zizyphus (Latin, another name)
- 枣 (Zao) (Chinese)
- 酸枣仁 (Suan Zao Ren) (Chinese)
Drug trade names
References
- Rodríguez Villanueva J, Rodríguez Villanueva L. Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology of Ziziphus jujuba Mills. Phytother Res. 2017Abstract
- Almansa S, Hernández F, Legua P, Nicolás-Almansa M, Amorós A. Physico-chemical and physiological changes during fruit development and on-tree ripening of two Spanish jujube cultivars (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). J Sci Food Agric. 2016Abstract
- Guo S, Duan JA, Qian D, Tang Y, Wu D, Su S, Wang H, Zhao Y. Content variations of triterpenic acid, nucleoside, nucleobase, and sugar in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) fruit during ripening. Food Chem. 2015Abstract
- Tahergorabi Z, Abedini MR, Mitra M, Fard MH, Beydokhti H. "Ziziphus jujuba": A red fruit with promising anticancer activities. Pharmacogn Rev. 2015Abstract
- Shad AA, Ahmad S, Ullah R, AbdEl-Salam NM, Fouad H, Ur Rehman N, Hussain H, Saeed W. Phytochemical and biological activities of four wild medicinal plants. ScientificWorldJournal. 2014Abstract
- Yeung WF, Chung KF, Poon MM, Ho FY, Zhang SP, Zhang ZJ, Ziea ET, Wong VT. Chinese herbal medicine for insomnia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Med Rev. 2012Abstract
- Ebrahimimd S, Ashkani-Esfahani S, Poormahmudibs A. Investigating the efficacy of zizyphus jujuba on neonatal jaundice. Iran J Pediatr. 2011Abstract
- Zhang H, Jiang L, Ye S, Ye Y, Ren F. Systematic evaluation of antioxidant capacities of the ethanolic extract of different tissues of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) from China. Food Chem Toxicol. 2010Abstract
- WHO. World Health Organization. Geneva. WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants. Volume 3. WHO monographs. 2007 Full text (link to original source) Full text (in our servers)