I remember reading that Papain enzymes are extracted from pineapple stems.
Finally I tried pulling all the leaves off the top of the pineapple. Your
are left with a cone shaped pale green stem above the fruit. You can cut it
up or just chew them up. It kind of digests the inside of your mouth so be careful. It
doesn't have the acid of the fruit part. Some are quite tender, sort
of like a cabbage core. I Chewed it up and what a rush. It really is loaded.
I think there were as many enzymes in the little stem as in the rest of the pineapple.

It isn't the most pleasant food(more like a vegetable than fruit), but would be
quite edible mixed in a salad or blended in a smoothie.

About a year ago I was stuck at about 169 lbs(73 Kilos). This should be a
good weight for me, but I still had too much fat on my waist.

We started buying a case of Pineapples at the local market. There were
6 to 8 and we were getting them for a couple of bucks each. We were eating
a box a week. I'm sure I ate half of them. In a little over a month I dropped
down to 152 lbs(69 Kilos)
If I could find something that would breakdown excess fat as easily, I really
would have a winner!
T

Where do you get pineapples with stems? Outside of a growing region, I don't think you can. Interesting that the papain may have influenced your metabolism to that degree. Good job!

I've often wondered what use might be made of pineapple crowns and have one rooted in a pot at the moment.

"Bromelain extracts can be obtained from both the fruit core and stems of pineapple. Potentially important chemical differences appear to exist between extracts obtained from the stem versus the core fruit. However, the practical relevance of these differences is not presently understood. Most of the laboratory research on bromelain has been conducted using stem-based extracts, however." [www.whfoods.com]

If Whole Foods is referring to the stem of the crown then that's one more source of plant enzymes for me.. thanks!

In this google image the stem supports the pineapple, yet is continuous through the core of the fruit and into the crown.


[www.pineapplenews.com]

Maybe I need to shop in the barrio . . .

I imagine the heart of the crown is tough like the core of the pineapple...


[blog.luckyvitamin.com]

I thought that papain was from papaya. Thinking of bromelain?

banana who,

Right you are--I must be sleep deprived for not having caught that!

The stems of a pineapple ARE unpleasant to human beings. This is their way of saying 'don't eat me'!

TruthHunter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember reading that Papain (bromelain )enzymes are
> extracted from pineapple stems.
> Finally I tried pulling all the leaves off the top
> of the pineapple. Your
> are left with a cone shaped pale green stem above
> the fruit. You can cut it
> up or just chew them up. It kind of digests the
> inside of your mouth so be careful. It
> doesn't have the acid of the fruit part. Some are
> quite tender, sort
> of like a cabbage core. I Chewed it up and what a
> rush. It really is loaded.
> I think there were as many enzymes in the little
> stem as in the rest of the pineapple.
>
> It isn't the most pleasant food(more like a
> vegetable than fruit), but would be
> quite edible mixed in a salad or blended in a
> smoothie.
>
> About a year ago I was stuck at about 169 lbs(73
> Kilos). This should be a
> good weight for me, but I still had too much fat
> on my waist.
>
> We started buying a case of Pineapples at the
> local market. There were
> 6 to 8 and we were getting them for a couple of
> bucks each. We were eating
> a box a week. I'm sure I ate half of them. In a
> little over a month I dropped
> down to 152 lbs(69 Kilos)
> If I could find something that would breakdown
> excess fat as easily, I really
> would have a winner!
> T

I was reading that the crowns of pineapples are sometimes crushed and juiced along with the cores to add to pineapple drinks and as juice to canned pineapple. [www.hort.purdue.edu] They use *vine rippened* pineapples in the industry.

"All residual parts cores, skin and fruit ends are crushed and given a first pressing for juice to be canned as such or prepared as sirup used to fill the cans of fruit, or is utilized in confectionery and beverages, or converted into powdered pineapple extract which has various roles in the food industry."

Pineapples are sometimes harvested leaving a small pedestal of stem at the base in order to protect the bottom of the pineapple from damage. The rest of the stems left in the field after harvesting the fruit can then be collected for the extraction of bromelain or for animal feed.

Vine rippened pineapples are very sweet, not like the acid pineapples that I so often avoid in my remote northern market. A case could be made against unripe pineapples.

"I was reading that the crowns of pineapples are sometimes crushed and juiced"

More precisely, I was reading that the "fruit ends" are juiced. Fruit ends are more likely the actual *fruit* ends rather than the crown and/or stem, come to think of it. The Purdue article does say that "In Africa, young, tender shoots are eaten in salads. The terminal bud or "cabbage" and the inflorescences are eaten raw or cooked." Further on --

"Toxicity

"When unripe, the pineapple is not only inedible but poisonous, irritating the throat and acting as a drastic purgative."

TruthHunter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember reading that (bromelain) enzymes are
> extracted from pineapple stems.
> Finally I tried pulling all the leaves off the top
> of the pineapple. You
> are left with a cone shaped pale green stem above
> the fruit...

I 'get' the enzymes in the stem above the pineapple.. how about the leaves, have you tried them? I've been saving the pineapple crown and adding a few leaves here and there to ground dishes like hummus...