Pomelo derives its name from a word of unknown origin ‘pampelmoose’. The tasty fruit is popular locally for its taste and features significantly in the Chinese New Year celebrations. The pomelo tree is a large bushy tree with an irregular crown growing to around 5 to 15 m in height.
The thorny tree has many branches and it produces fruits all year round.
The pomelo fruit is the largest of all citrus fruits. Its outer skin is rough and easy to peel.
It is light green to yellow in colour and dotted with oil glands.
The fruit is either round or oblong with white thick spongy pith that encloses the edible portion of the fruit.
A pomelo fruit grows throughout Southeast Asia and many islands of the South Pacific.
Commercial exportation and trade has led to the fruit’s widespread availability around the world, and orchards in warmer climates from Florida to Australia can be found growing it; nevertheless, it remains most popular in Asian cultures and cuisines.
It is perhaps best known in the West as one of the “parents” of the more common grapefruit: grapefruits are a hybrid made by crossing a pomelo with an orange.
Pomelo has a high content of potassium, which like vitamin C plays an important role in supporting the heart. This essential mineral regulates blood pressure levels.
Abundant in pectin, pomelo juice clears the arterial deposits accumulated in the body, thereby reducing the impurities and benefiting people with hypertension.
Pomelo also reduces the cholesterol count in the body and promotes good cholesterol.
Urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects the urinary system that creates stores and removes urine.
The vitamin C present in pomelo increases the acid level in urine and shirks the development of bacteria in the urinary tract.
The skin of the fruit is very rich in bioflavonoids. This property is helpful in reducing pancreatic, intestinal and breast cancer. In fact, it stops cancerous cells from spreading.
Finally, Pomelo is also packed with fiber, a must-have nutrient to help maintain regular bowel movements and prevent constipation and even aid in weight loss.
