Indian Fruit: The Indian Fruit Used To Help You in Your Struggles Against Diabetes, Bowel Disorders and Viral Infections

Ancient Indian and Pakistani health practitioners were quick to discover that the extracts of a particular tree which they called bael or sirphal, has several health benefits. The bael tree (its scientific name is Aegle marmelos correa) is native to India but also grows in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Thailand. It is sometimes also known as bengal quince and produces a fruit which is rich in pectin a good nutritional fibre. Its fruit is a very effective remedy against stomach and bowel problems and is used to treat dysentery, diarrhoea, indigestion, and bowel infections in general. The fruit has the ability to heal small ulcers inside the bowel which are produced by infection or inflammation.

The tree itself is a 6-8 metre tall perennial tree which is often found in gardens or near mango orchards and in forest plantations in India. Although various parts of the tree are used for its nutritional and health-boosting properties, it is the fruit that has the most well-researched properties. A normal fully-grown bael tree can produce up to 1,000 fruits a year.

The bael fruit is very nutritious and is rich in riboflavin. It is used to prepare a variety of beverages or foods such as squash, toffee, or candy. The fruit contains several natural plant chemicals including alkaloids, coumarin and plant steroids.1

It protects your heart from diabetes just as well as conventional drugs

Some of these chemicals are effective against diabetes and, according to research, may even be more active than conventional prescription-only anti-diabetic drugs. In one experiment, researchers from the Department of Biochemistry, Annamalai University, in Nagar, India, compared the properties of bael fruit extracts to the drug Glibenclamide. This is a conventional drug used to help the body produce more insulin and therefore reduce the symptoms of diabetes.

In this experiment, the scientists gave the extract to diabetic rats in the laboratory and found that the extracts were able to protect the heart and other tissues of the animals against diabetes. The results were more noticeable in those animals which were given the bael fruit extract, compared to those who were treated with glibenglamide.2

Although this experiment was performed on laboratory animals, scientists believe that the same effects can be found in humans too, which makes the bael fruit a promising treatment for diabetes. However, more research is needed to confirm this beyond doubt.

Bael helps get rid of infections before they take hold

In another experiment, extracts of bael were tested against viral infections, particularly against certain viruses that cause chest or bowel infections. In this experiment, many parts of the tree were used separately, including the fruit, root, leaves and bark. The results were then compared to the drug Ribavirin, which is a standard drug used against viral infections. The results showed that all extracts were as effective as Ribavirin in reducing the risk of viral infections. The scientists believe that the extracts work by killing the viruses before they have the chance to take hold inside your cells and cause the infection.3

In addition to being active against viruses, bael is also effective against fungal infections such as thrush or bowel infections. This was proven by another group of Indian scientists from the Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. These scientists found that the bael fruit extracts were effective at blocking the spreading of the fungi, even in cases of normally resistant infections.4

This combined anti-infective action of bael, together with its ability to heal the inside lining of the bowel, may be very useful in patients who have chronic bowel conditions such as ulcerative colitis.

A natural antidote to free radicals 

Some scientists believe that bael may have benefits beyond those traditionally acknowledged by ancient practitioners. For example, the fruit extracts may be an effective way of protecting against the effects of radiation during radiotherapy.

Researchers from the Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, in India have reported that bael fruit extracts reduce radiation sickness and protect cells against the toxic by-products of the radiation treatment. This is because the extracts act as natural antidotes to free-radicals, toxins that are produced when the radiation interacts with your tissues. This makes the bael fruit a valuable supplement to use during radiotherapy for cancer.5

What to take for best results

The recommended daily dose is 250mg of the extract, in capsule form, twice a day after meals. There are no contraindications. Pure bael also exists in powder and liquid form, and the dose depends on the particular preparation.

 1. Jauhari, O.S., et al., Survey of some important varieties of Bael (Aegle marmelos Correa). Punjab Hort. J. 1969; 9: 48-53
 2. Indian J Exp Biol 2003; 41(11): 1285-8
3. J Commun Dis 2002; 34(2): 88-99
4. J Ethnopharmacol 1997; 57(1): 29-34
5. Int J Radiat Biol 2004; 80(4): 281-90