Ananas comosus is the botanical name of the fruit we know as the pineapple. Native to South America, it was named for its resemblance to a pine cone. The term pineapple (or pinappel in Middle English) did not appear in English print until around 1664.
Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering the pineapple on the island of Guadeloupe in 1493, although the fruit had long been grown in South America. He called it piña de Indes meaning "pine of the Indians."
South American Guarani Indians cultivated pineapples for food. They called it nanã, meaning "excellent fruit." Another explorer, Magellan, is credited with finding pineapples in Brazil in 1519, and by 1555, the luscious fruit was being exported with gusto to England. It soon spread to India, Asia, and the West Indies.
When George Washington tasted pineapple in 1751 in Barbados, he declared it his favorite tropical fruit. Although the pineapple thrived in Florida, it was still a rarity for most Americans. Captain James Cook later introduced the pineapple to Hawaii circa 1770. However, commercial cultivation did not begin until the 1880s when steamships made transporting the perishable fruit viable.
In 1903, James Drummond Dole began canning pineapple, making it easily accessible worldwide. Production stepped up dramatically when a new machine automated the skinning and coring of the fruit. The Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company was a booming business by 1921, making pineapple Hawaii's largest crop and industry.
Today, Hawaii produces only ten percent of the world's pineapple crops. Other countries contributing to the pineapple industry include Mexico, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Thailand, Costa Rica, China, and Asia. - Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Health Benefits:
Pineapple fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain that digests food by breaking down protein. Bromelain also has anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that consumption of pineapple regularly helps fight against arthritis, indigestion and worm infestation. - Nutrition And You
The vitamin C in Pineapple is the body's primary water-soluble antioxidant, defending all aqueous areas of the body against free radicals that attack and damage normal cells. Free radicals have been shown to promote the artery plaque build-up of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, cause the airway spasm that leads to asthma attacks, damage the cells of the colon so they become colon cancer cells, and contribute to the joint pain and disability seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This would explain why diets rich in vitamin C have been shown to be useful for preventing or reducing the severity of all of these conditions. In addition, vitamin C is vital for the proper function of the immune system, making it a nutrient to turn to for the prevention of recurrent ear infections, colds, and flu. - Worlds Healthiest Foods
Manganese is a vitamin that our body can't produce on its own. We need to find daily sources of manganese from food we eat. Pineapple is agreat source of Manganese. Manganese is responsible for bone formation, healing wounds, and keeping skin healthy. It regulates blood sugar levels, and helps with the immune system to fight off disease. Regularly eating pineapple will ensure you're consuming enough manganese in your diet. - Expert Coloumn
In evaluation of the ability of the methanolic extract of pineapple peel and its effect on brain tissues found that pineapple peel extract protects against alcohol-induced changes in total phospholipids and lipid peroxidation in brain tissues. - Effect of pineapple peel extract on total phospholipids and lipid peroxidation in brain tissues of rats
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