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Achras zapota
Achras zapota L., (=Achras sapota L.), Sapotaceae, sapota or sapodilla fruit, is a native of tropical America and West Indies, now cultivated throughout the tropics for its very sweet and pleasant flavoured fruits. Some taxonomists treat this species as Manilkara sapota. The flowering twig and fruits are illustrated.
The bark is a tonic and febrifuge. Water soluble fractions of the bark are effective against tuberculosis.
The fruit is a preventive against biliousness and febrile attacks.
The seed are diuretic.
The bark yields milky latex, called chicle, similar to gutta-percha, used as a base in the manufacture of chewing gum, before synthetic substitutes were introudced. Chicle is also used in dental surgery. It is a substitute for gutta-percha, obtained from Palaquim gutta, Sapotaceae.
Glucosides, tannin, saponin, and alkaloids were known from the species. The bark contains tannin. The seeds contain about 20 per cent liquid fat, saponin and abittter principle sapotinin.