CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Lanzones or langsat (Lansium Domesticum) is an edible tropical fruit native to the Southeastern

parts of Asia. Its taste may range from tart to sweet, similar to grapes or grapefruit. However, it

may be slightly bitter if the seeds remain clung on to the flesh.

Lanzones is a sweet edible fruit that contains numerous nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, which

are beneficial to the body’s health.

Lanzones is also known as Langsat and has a scientific name of “Lansium Parasiticum,” which

came from the family of mahogany plant. This plant can be usually found in tropical climate

countries including the Philippines. This plant grows up to 30 meters and bears a yellow sweet

edible fruit that looks like a small potato. Most Filipinos love to eat this exotic fruit because of its

sweet, sour, and delicious taste. It is usually eaten raw and it contains bitter seeds. Aside from

being one of the most popular fruits around the world, it also contains high nutritional value. This

fruit has been also traditionally used by ancient people in treating and preventing different types

of diseases, because of its medicinal properties. It also contains numerous health benefits for our

body’s health. It contains vitamins A, B, C, thiamine, niacin, fiber, riboflavin, pantothenic acid,

ascorbic acid, and other beneficial nutrients. It contains minerals such as iron, manganese, zinc,

potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and calcium.

Nutritional Data

Given is the nutritional data for 100 grams of lanzones fruit:

Nutrients Amount

Vitamin A131U

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)0.05 mg

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)0.02 mg

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)0.5 mg

Vitamin C 4.1 mg to 13.3 mg

Iron 1 mg

Phosphorous 20.5 mg

Calcium 10.8 to 20 mg

Carbohydrate 7.7 to 14.3 g

Protein 0.5 to 0.8 g

Fiber 2.3 g

Moisture 86.5 g

It has antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains a

large amount of antioxidant that can help the body to fight free radicals, which can cause

numerous types of diseases.

Here are some of the powerful health benefits of lanzones:

 Relieve Diarrhea

 Boosts Immune System

 Treats Fever

 Cure Dysentery and Malaria

 Remedy for Ulcers and Deworming

 Improves Metabolism

 Can Treat Scorpion Stings

 Regulates Blood Sugar Levels

 Relieves Inflammation
 Treats Bloating

 Reduces Cholesterol Levels

 Aids Weight Loss

Lanzones can be also used as a natural alternative to expensive treatments and medication in

resolving different types of diseases. These are only some of the numerous health benefits we can

obtain from eating lanzones.

Health Benefits: Are Lanzones Good for You

Rich in vitamin A

Lanzones contain a substantial amount of Vitamin A, which is effective in maintaining good eye

health as well as protecting the skin, and mucous membranes.

Antioxidant properties

As antioxidants help in protecting the cells in our body from free radicals, preventing premature

aging, including lanzones as part of your fruit diet would help in improving your overall health.

For dental health

Because of its high phosphorus content, it may assist in strengthening and whitening your teeth,

also minimizing the chances of a toothache.

High in fiber

100 grams of this fruit contain about 2.3 grams of dietary fiber which is sufficient in meeting 8 to

11% and 6 to 8% of the daily fiber intake of adult women and men respectively. Thus, lanzones

are one of the food varieties that can be eaten to regulate bowel movements.

It may also have a positive impact on your weight as it is low in fat. Moreover, eating fiber-rich

foods gives you a sense of fullness for a longer time, lessening your appetite.

For diabetes

This fruit is considered to be a healthy snack for people with diabetes as its high fiber content,

along with the presence of the antioxidant polyphenol, aids in improving glucose levels by

slowing down the absorption of sugar.

Manages cholesterol

Lanzones have a significant proportion of Niacin (Vitamin B3), which, similar to the fiber present

in it, is useful in increasing good cholesterol that goes on to eliminate bad cholesterol from the

blood, ensuring a good heart health.

Lansium domesticum, also known as langsat, buahluku or lanzones, is a species of tree in the

Mahogany family. The tree bears edible fruits. The lanzones, which originates from western

Southeast Asia and Southern India (it is the provincial flower for the Indonesian province of
South Sumatra), besides being a very delicious treat, is also a significantly healthy fruit. It grows

in clusters (similar to grapes) and has an oval shape, with a yellow to light brown peel. 

The fruit can be elliptical, oval, or round, measuring 2 to 7 centimeters (0.79 to 2.8 in) by 1.5 to

5 centimeters (0.59 to 2.0 in) in size. Fruits look much like small potatoes.

The larger fruits are in the variety known as duku. It is covered with thin, yellow hair giving it a

slightly fuzzy appearance. The skin thickness varies with the varieties, from 2 millimeters (0.079

in) to approximately 6 millimeters (0.24 in).

The fruit contains 1 to 3 seeds, flat, and bitter tasting. The seeds are covered with a thick, clear-

white aril that tastes sweet and sour. The taste has been likened to a combination of grape and

grapefruit and is considered excellent by most tasters. The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose,

fructose, and glucose. For consumption are preferred cultivars with small or undeveloped seeds

and thick aril.

Lanzones is cultivated mainly for its fruit, which can be eaten raw. The fruit can also be bottled

in syrup. The wood is hard, thick, heavy, and resilient, allowing it to be used in the construction

of rural houses. Some parts of the plant are used in making traditional medicine.

The bitter seeds can be pounded and mixed with water to make a deworming and ulcer

medication. The bark is used to treat dysentery and malaria; the powdered bark can also be used

to treat scorpion stings.

The fruit’s skin is used to treat diarrhea, and in the Philippines the dried peel is burned and used

as a mosquito repellent. The skin, especially of the langsat variety, can be dried and burned as

incense.

Lanzones can be consumed through syrup, as a candy, or can be cooked, but local people

consume it fresh and raw. One serving of lanzones contains approximately 100 g of the edible

portion of the fruit.

Lanzones per 1 serving contain 86.5 g of moisture, 0.8 g of protein, 9.5 g of carbohydrates and

2.3 g of fiber. Additionally, this fruit contains 20 g of calcium, 30 g of phosphorus, 13 IU of

vitamin A, 89 mcg of thiamine, 124 mcg of riboflavin, 1 g of ascorbic acid and 1.1 mg of phytin

per 1 serving.

The greatest producers of lanzones are Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. The

production is mostly for internal consumption, although some is exported to Singapore and Hong

Kong.

However you consume lanzones, it`s important to know that this exotic fruit has a plenty of

positive effects on your health.

Abstract—The environment is continually deteriorating. Biodegradable wastes increase

with increasing population. The problem in wastes affect the integrity of the earth. Problems in

health and nutrition are common. Finding important chemicals from fruit peels like total sugars

or carbohydrates, as well as alkaloids will help address daily challenges in nutrition and

health. This study aimed to determine the phytochemicals present in the peels of the selected
fruits obtained from Manila, Philippines. Specifically it aimed to determine the presence of

total sugars and alkaloids. Further it aimed to obtain the amounts of total sugars and

alkaloids in the fruit peel samples analyzed. All fruit peels from rambutan (Nepheleum

lappacium), lanzones (Lansium domesticum ), pomelo (Citrus grandis), longgan

(Dimocarpus longana), dalandan (Citrus nobilis), ponkan (Citrus reticulata), mangosteen (

Garcinia mangostana) qualitatively showed the presence of reducing sugars as well as

glycosides. Pomelo, rambutan, longgan, and mangosteen contain tannins. Lanzones

contains alkaloids. Sugars and alkaloids for lanzones gave the highest intensity in the

phytochemical screening done. It was only lanzones which gave positive results to all tests

related to alkaloids. The amounts of total sugars in both the diluted and stock solution

(20% decoction) fruit peel samples showed a range of 1.801 to more than 164 ug/ml

concentrations. The alkaloidal contents of lanzones showed 0.0312 mg/ml level at 1:9

dilution. Since the samples studied showed the presence of heavy metals, although still within

the allowed limit by USP and NF, it is best to decontaminate the fruit peels or isolate and

purify the active ingredient/s from it prior to the actual preparation of the pharmacologic

and nutritional products.

Lansium Domesticum, often referred as lanzones in the Philippines, is a fruit found in the

tropical climate countries in the Southeast Asian region. The benefits of Lanzones do not stop

only with its fruits, but the tree itself has a various usage. For instance, the bitter seeds can be

pounded and mixed with water to make a deworming and ulcer medication. The bark also used

to treat dysentery and malaria, and the powdered bark can also be used to threat scorpion stings.

In the Philippine, it has been known fact that the lanzones peels are an effective mosquito
repellent. This is usually done every after the consumption of this fruit where the peels are all

gathered and burned to result in an organic repellent.

Mosquito coil is mosquito-repelling incense, usually shaped into a spiral and typically made

from dried paste of pyrethrum powder. The coil usually held at centre of the spiral suspending it

on air, or wedge by two pieces of fireproof melting to allow continuous smouldering. Burning

usually begins at the outer end of the spiral and progresses and slowly towards the centre of the

spiral, producing mosquito-repellent smoke.

Lanzones fruit were taxonomically and thoroughly washed before it was extracted on the day of

experiment three were made for each set-up and results of the lanzones peeling’s were compared

to control of this experiment.

Result showed that the lanzones peeling’s extrat had a mean protection of 93.33% while the

positive control had a mean protection of 96.19% this means that the lanzones peelings extract

showed a 2.86% difference from that of the positive control containing 25% Diethlytoulamide

(DEET) which indicates a promising result as it showed no significant difference from the

commercial insect repellent. Since the average protection rate of the experimental set-up

(93.33%) is much closer to the value of positive control (96.19%) that the negative control

(86.67%) researchers conclude that the extract is positively effective as a repellent.

 Mosquitoes are one of the biggest annoyances of summer. To be fair, they do serve a purpose in

the environment. Mosquito larvae are a popular snack for fish and other aquatic creatures while

adult mosquitoes provide food for birds, bats, and spiders. Male mosquito’s don’t bite the

humans, but they rather feed off the flowers nectar. The female mosquitoes are the ones that will
require the meals of the blood of a human beings and other animals in order to develop and lay

their eggs.  The mosquito bites are the best an itchy nuisance and, at worst, they can transmit any

serious diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue and etc. (Mercola 2017).            The yellow

fever mosquito, Aedesaegypti, is one of the world’s most deadly animals.

In addition to yellow fever, it is the primary vector of Zika virus, dengue, and chikungunya.

These mosquitoes lay their eggs in small containers that hold water, including tree holes, cups,

bowls, discarded tires, flower pots, tin cans, clogged rain gutters, and many other objects, which

puts them in close contact with humans. They prefer to bite during the day, but are most active

two hours before sunrise and two hours after sunset  (Levine 2013).                            According

to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever

each year, causing 30,000 deaths, with 90% occurring in Africa. The World Health Organization

(WHO) also estimates that about 390 million cases of dengue cases that occur globally each year.

Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, severe eye pain, joint pain, nose bleeds, rash,

and low white blood cell counts. Otherwise, severe cases may lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever

(DHF)https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/aedes_aegypti_zika_virus#aedes.

(Retrieved on January 06, 2017).Based on National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD),

dengue fever is an acute viral infection characterized by fever. It is caused by an itchy bite from

mosquitoes that are carrying the dengue virus and also the primary form of the Dengue Fever

that is characterized by a skin rashes and a high fever. Other symptoms may include shaking

chills, diarrhea, and vomiting and etc. Repellents are made to make humans to be unattractive to

a mosquito and that it will avoid any areas or parts of the body that have been treated with the

product that repel mosquitoes. Repellents do not kill mosquitoes.

The best repellents will provide the protection from bites of a mosquito for a long period of time

from just one application. The University of Florida mosquito researchers have already tested

and evaluated the effectiveness of mosquito repellents based on the amount of time of the

product that will continue to repel mosquitoes after one application to the skin (Rutledge and

Day 2012).   

But not all Filipinos can afford the expensive commercial brands of mosquito repellent. This

enlightens the researchers to devise an instrument that will kill mosquitoes. An Alternative

Mosquito Repellent using dried peelings of lanzones (Lansium domesticum) may be the solution

to the problem of the people living in slum and rural prone areas.