Deliciously Healthy Seeds

Pomegranate tree is a deciduous shrub, which bears a fruit of the same name.

- Swarnendu Biswas

The small tree belongs to the Lythraceae family, and its height ranges between 5 and 8 m. The pomegranate fruit can be botanically defined as a berry, and its number of seeds varies between 200 and 1400. The fruit’s size varies between 5-12 cm in diameter. The delicious fruit has edible red or crimson seeds inside a reddish or reddish orange leathery skin. The sweet seeds are edible while the skin is not. The pomegranate seeds are also called arils.

Rich in History The origin of pomegranate can be traced from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India, and the fruit has been cultivated in the Middle-East, South Asia and the Mediterranean region for several millennia. Later the pomegranate plant and its fruit were introduced to the orient through the famed silk route. Pomegranate is regarded among the first five fruit crops to be domesticated by humankind.

The fruit finds its mention in the Egyptian mythology and art, and in Babylonian Talmud, and also has Biblical references. The pomegranate fruit was regarded as a symbol of prosperity and ambition in the ancient Egypt. In the ancient Persian culture too pomegranate was regarded as the symbol of fertility. The fruit also has reference in the Book of Exodus.

In the ancient times, desert caravans carried the fruit, and used its juice as a thirst quencher of sorts. In Latin America, the fruit was introduced in the late 16th century. However, the US was introduced to pomegranate only in the late 18th century, by the Spanish sailors.

The Indian Connection In India, the nutritive and medicinal value of pomegranate has been a part of the popular culture; there is a tradition in the country of offering pomegranates to the ill persons or persons recovering from illness. In India’s ancient and yet modern system of medicine, Ayurveda, pomegranate is abundantly used as an ingredient in remedies.