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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Ackee
| image = Akee.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Ackee fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| subregnum = [[Tracheobionta]]
| superdivisio = [[Spermatophyta]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| subclassis = [[Rosidae]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Sapindaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Blighia]]''
| species = '''''B. sapida'''''
| binomial = ''Blighia sapida''
| binomial_authority = [[Charles Konig|K.D.Koenig]]
}}
The '''Ackee''' or '''Akee''' (''Blighia sapida'') is a member of the [[Sapindaceae]] (soapberry family), native to tropical [[West Africa]] in [[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]], [[Sao Tome and Principe]], [[Benin]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Cote D'Ivoire]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mali]], [[Nigeria]], [[Senegal]], [[Sierra Leone]] and [[Togo]].<ref name="scientific"> {{cite web|last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= | date= |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?7271 |title=GRIN/NPGS Taxonomy information |format= |work= |pages= |publisher= | language= |accessdate=2006-06-01 |curly= }}</ref>
It is related to the [[Lychee]] and the [[Longan]], and is an [[evergreen]] [[tree]] that grows about 10 [[metre]]s tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[pinnate]],<ref name="features">{{cite book | first= | last= | authorlink= | coauthors=Vinken Pierre; Bruyn GW | year=1995 | title=Intoxications of the Nervous System | edition= | publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. | location=Amsterdam, Netherlands | id=ISBN 0-444-81284-9 }}</ref> leathery, [[Compound_leaves#Divisions_of_the_lamina_.28blade.29|compound]], 15–30 [[centimetre]]s long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad.
[[Image:Ackee Flower 001.JPG|thumb|left|Ackee Flower]]
The [[flower]]s are unisexual and fragrant. They have five petals, are greenish-white<ref name="description2">{{cite book | first=Robert | last=Riffle | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=1998 | title=The Tropical Look | edition= | publisher= Timber Press| location= | id=ISBN 0-88192-422-9 }}</ref> and bloom during warm months.<ref name="description">{{cite book | first=Kristen | last=Llamas | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=2003 | title=Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation | edition= | publisher= Timber Press | location= | id=ISBN 0-88192-585-3 }}</ref> The [[fruit]] is pear-shaped. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—[[aril]]li.<ref name="features"/>The fruit typically weighs 100–200 [[gram]]s.<ref name="features"/>
The scientific name honours Captain [[William Bligh]] who took the fruit from [[Jamaica]] to the UK in 1793 and introduced it to science. The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.<ref name="jis">{{cite web | author= | year=| title=This is Jamaica | format=HTML | work=National Symbols of Jamaica | url= http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/This%20Is%20Jamaica/symbols.html | accessdate=2006-06-04}}</ref> Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world. The term 'ackee' originated from the [[Twi]] language.<ref name="language">{{cite book | first=Allan | last=Metcalf | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=1999 | title=The World in So Many Words | edition= | publisher= | location= | id=ISBN 0-395-95920-9 }}</ref> Other names and variant spellings include '''Ackee''', '''Akee''', '''akee apple''', '''Achee''', or ''vegetable brain''.
==Cultivation and uses==
Although native to West Africa, consumption of ackee for food takes place mainly in [[Cuisine of Jamaica|Jamaican cuisine]], where ''ackee and saltfish'' is the national dish. Salted dried cod is sautéed with ackee (boiled), [[onion]]s, [[Capsicum|peppers]], [[tomato]]es, herbs, and may be garnished with crisp [[bacon]] and fresh tomatoes.
Ackee was first introduced to [[Jamaica]] and later to [[Haiti]], [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Barbados]] and others. It has been later introduced to [[Florida]] in the [[United States]].
The [[Vegetable oil|oil]] of the ackee arils contains many important nutrients, especially [[fatty acid]]s. [[Linoleic acid|Linoleic]], [[Palmitic acid|palmitic]] and [[stearic acid]]s are the primary fatty acids found in the fruit.<ref name="composition">{{cite web | author= | year=| title=Jamaican Ackee | format= | work=| url=http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/ackee.html | accessdate=2006-06-02}}</ref> Ackee oil makes an important contribution to the diet of many [[Jamaicans]].
The dried seeds, fruit bark and leaves are used medicinally.<ref name='medicinal'> {{cite web|last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= | date= |url=http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/Mansfeld/Taxonomy/datenvoll.afp?module=mf&source=botnam&taxid=6907&akzanz=0&rehm=0 |title=Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops |format= |work= |pages= |publisher= | language=english |accessdate=2006-06-01 |curly= }} </ref> The fruit is used to produce soap in some parts of Africa. It is also used as a fish poison.<ref name="poisonous uses">{{cite book | first=James | last=Duke | authorlink= | coauthors=Mary Jo Bogenschutz-Godwin, Judi Ducellier, Duke A Duke | year=2002 | title=Handbook of Medicinal Herbs | edition= | publisher= | location= | id=ISBN 0-8493-1284-1 }}</ref>
===Ackee poisoning===
[[Image:Ackee 001.jpg|thumb|Closed Ackee Fruit]]
The fruit of the Ackee is not edible in entirety. It is only the fleshy [[aril]]s around the seeds that are edible; the remainder of the fruit and seeds are [[poison]]ous. The fruit must only be picked after it has opened naturally, and it must be fresh and not overripe. Immature and overripe ackee fruit are also poisonous. The fruit, even when ripe, is a cause of [[Jamaican vomiting sickness]], characterized by [[vomit]]ing and [[hypoglycemia]].
Ackees may be poisonous, but they do contain vitamin A, zinc, and protein.
The unripened or inedible portions of the fruit contain the toxins [[hypoglycin|hypoglycin A]] and hypoglycin B. Hypoglicin A is found in both the seeds and the arilli, while hypoglycin B is found only in the seeds.<ref name="features"/> [[Hypoglycin]] is converted in the body to methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid (MCPA). Hypoglycin and MCPA are both toxic. MCPA inhibits several enzymes involved in the breakdown of acyl CoA compounds. Hypoglycin binds irreversibly to [[coenzyme A]] and [[carnitine]] reducing their bioavailability and consequently inhibiting [[beta oxidation]] of [[fatty acid]]s. Beta oxidation normally provides the body with [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]], [[Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide|NADH]] and [[acetyl CoA]] which is used to supplement the energy produced by glycolysis. Glucose stores are consequently depleted leading to [[hypoglycemia]].<ref name="Clinical">{{cite book | first= Vishwanath | last= SarDesai | title=Introduction to Clinical Nutrition | publisher=Marcel Dekker Inc. | location=New York | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-8247-4093-9}}</ref>
===Economic importance===
The ackee fruit is canned and is a major export product in Jamaica. In 2005 the ackee industry was valued at $400 million in the island.<ref name="Economics">{{cite web | title=Viable Ackee Industry must be Protected- BSJ Inspector | work= | url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/agriculture/html/20060506T100000-0500_8777_JIS_VIABLE_ACKEE_INDUSTRY_MUST_BE_PROTECTED__BSJ_INSPECTOR.asp | accessdate=2006-06-02}}</ref> The importing of canned ackee into the U.S. has at times been restricted due to unripe ackee arilli being included. However, it is currently allowed, provided that the amount of hypoglycin present meets the standards of the [[Food and Drug Administration]].
In 2005 the first commercial shipments of canned ackee from Haiti were approved by the US-FDA for shipment to the US market.<sup>12</sup> The canning plant in Port-au-Prince is supplied with fruit from three commercial orchards on the outskirts of the city.
==References==
{{reflist}}
12. http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia2111.html
==External links==
{{commons|Blighia sapida|Ackee}}
* [http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=68 The Ackee Fruit (Blighia Sapida) and its Associated Toxic Effects] - a review from the Science Creative Quarterly
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/akee.html Fruits of Warm Climates: Ackee]
* [http://www.montosogardens.com/blighia_sapida.htm Blighia sapida (Sapindaceae)]
[[Category:Sapindaceae]]
[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:National symbols of Jamaica]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Ackee
| image = Akee.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Ackee fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| subregnum = [[Tracheobionta]]
| superdivisio = [[Spermatophyta]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| subclassis = [[Rosidae]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Sapindaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Blighia]]''
| species = '''''B. sapida'''''
| binomial = ''Blighia sapida''
| binomial_authority = [[Charles Konig|K.D.Koenig]]
}}
The '''Ackee''' or '''Akee''' (''Blighia sapida'') is a member of the [[Sapindaceae]] (soapberry family), native to tropical [[West Africa]] in [[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]], [[Sao Tome and Principe]], [[Benin]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Cote D'Ivoire]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mali]], [[Nigeria]], [[Senegal]], [[Sierra Leone]] and [[Togo]].<ref name="scientific"> {{cite web|last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= | date= |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?7271 |title=GRIN/NPGS Taxonomy information |format= |work= |pages= |publisher= | language= |accessdate=2006-06-01 |curly= }}</ref>
It is related to the [[Lychee]] and the [[Longan]], and is an [[evergreen]] [[tree]] that grows about 10 [[metre]]s tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[pinnate]],<ref name="features">{{cite book | first= | last= | authorlink= | coauthors=Vinken Pierre; Bruyn GW | year=1995 | title=Intoxications of the Nervous System | edition= | publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. | location=Amsterdam, Netherlands | id=ISBN 0-444-81284-9 }}</ref> leathery, [[Compound_leaves#Divisions_of_the_lamina_.28blade.29|compound]], 15–30 [[centimetre]]s long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad.
[[Image:Ackee Flower 001.JPG|thumb|left|Ackee Flower]]
The [[flower]]s are unisexual and fragrant. They have five petals, are greenish-white<ref name="description2">{{cite book | first=Robert | last=Riffle | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=1998 | title=The Tropical Look | edition= | publisher= Timber Press| location= | id=ISBN 0-88192-422-9 }}</ref> and bloom during warm months.<ref name="description">{{cite book | first=Kristen | last=Llamas | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=2003 | title=Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation | edition= | publisher= Timber Press | location= | id=ISBN 0-88192-585-3 }}</ref> The [[fruit]] is pear-shaped. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—[[aril]]li.<ref name="features"/>The fruit typically weighs 100–200 [[gram]]s.<ref name="features"/>
The scientific name honours Captain [[William Bligh]] who took the fruit from [[Jamaica]] to the UK in 1793 and introduced it to science. The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.<ref name="jis">{{cite web | author= | year=| title=This is Jamaica | format=HTML | work=National Symbols of Jamaica | url= http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/This%20Is%20Jamaica/symbols.html | accessdate=2006-06-04}}</ref> Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world. The term 'ackee' originated from the [[Twi]] language.<ref name="language">{{cite book | first=Allan | last=Metcalf | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=1999 | title=The World in So Many Words | edition= | publisher= | location= | id=ISBN 0-395-95920-9 }}</ref> Other names and variant spellings include '''Ackee''', '''Akee''', '''akee apple''', '''Achee''', or ''vegetable brain''.
==Cultivation and uses==
Although native to West Africa, consumption of ackee for food takes place mainly in [[Cuisine of Jamaica|Jamaican cuisine]], where ''ackee and saltfish'' is the national dish. Salted dried cod is sautéed with ackee (boiled), [[onion]]s, [[Capsicum|peppers]], [[tomato]]es, herbs, and may be garnished with crisp [[bacon]] and fresh tomatoes.
Ackee was first introduced to [[Jamaica]] and later to [[Haiti]], [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Barbados]] and others. It has been later introduced to [[Florida]] in the [[United States]].
The [[Vegetable oil|oil]] of the ackee arils contains many important nutrients, especially [[fatty acid]]s. [[Linoleic acid|Linoleic]], [[Palmitic acid|palmitic]] and [[stearic acid]]s are the primary fatty acids found in the fruit.<ref name="composition">{{cite web | author= | year=| title=Jamaican Ackee | format= | work=| url=http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/ackee.html | accessdate=2006-06-02}}</ref> Ackee oil makes an important contribution to the diet of many [[Jamaicans]].
The dried seeds, fruit bark and leaves are used medicinally.<ref name='medicinal'> {{cite web|last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= | date= |url=http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/Mansfeld/Taxonomy/datenvoll.afp?module=mf&source=botnam&taxid=6907&akzanz=0&rehm=0 |title=Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops |format= |work= |pages= |publisher= | language=english |accessdate=2006-06-01 |curly= }} </ref> The fruit is used to produce soap in some parts of Africa. It is also used as a fish poison.<ref name="poisonous uses">{{cite book | first=James | last=Duke | authorlink= | coauthors=Mary Jo Bogenschutz-Godwin, Judi Ducellier, Duke A Duke | year=2002 | title=Handbook of Medicinal Herbs | edition= | publisher= | location= | id=ISBN 0-8493-1284-1 }}</ref>
===Ackee poisoning===
[[Image:Ackee 001.jpg|thumb|Closed Ackee Fruit]]
The fruit of the Ackee is not edible in entirety. It is only the fleshy [[aril]]s around the seeds that are edible; the remainder of the fruit and seeds are [[poison]]ous. The fruit must only be picked after it has opened naturally, and it must be fresh and not overripe. Immature and overripe ackee fruit are also poisonous. The fruit, even when ripe, is a cause of [[Jamaican vomiting sickness]], characterized by [[vomit]]ing and [[hypoglycemia]].
Ackees may be poisonous, but they do contain vitamin A, zinc, and protein.
The unripened or inedible portions of the fruit contain the toxins [[hypoglycin|hypoglycin A]] and hypoglycin B. Hypoglicin A is found in both the seeds and the arilli, while hypoglycin B is found only in the seeds.<ref name="features"/> [[Hypoglycin]] is converted in the body to methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid (MCPA). Hypoglycin and MCPA are both toxic. MCPA inhibits several enzymes involved in the breakdown of acyl CoA compounds. Hypoglycin binds irreversibly to [[coenzyme A]] and [[carnitine]] reducing their bioavailability and consequently inhibiting [[beta oxidation]] of [[fatty acid]]s. Beta oxidation normally provides the body with [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]], [[Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide|NADH]] and [[acetyl CoA]] which is used to supplement the energy produced by glycolysis. Glucose stores are consequently depleted leading to [[hypoglycemia]].<ref name="Clinical">{{cite book | first= Vishwanath | last= SarDesai | title=Introduction to Clinical Nutrition | publisher=Marcel Dekker Inc. | location=New York | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-8247-4093-9}}</ref>
===Economic importance===
The ackee fruit is canned and is a major export product in Jamaica. In 2005 the ackee industry was valued at $400 million in the island.<ref name="Economics">{{cite web | title=Viable Ackee Industry must be Protected- BSJ Inspector | work= | url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/agriculture/html/20060506T100000-0500_8777_JIS_VIABLE_ACKEE_INDUSTRY_MUST_BE_PROTECTED__BSJ_INSPECTOR.asp | accessdate=2006-06-02}}</ref> The importing of canned ackee into the U.S. has at times been restricted due to unripe ackee arilli being included. However, it is currently allowed, provided that the amount of hypoglycin present meets the standards of the [[Food and Drug Administration]].
In 2005 the first commercial shipments of canned ackee from Haiti were approved by the US-FDA for shipment to the US market.<sup>12</sup> The canning plant in Port-au-Prince is supplied with fruit from three commercial orchards on the outskirts of the city.
==References==
{{reflist}}
12. http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia2111.html
==External links==
{{commons|Blighia sapida|Ackee}}
* [http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=68 The Ackee Fruit (Blighia Sapida) and its Associated Toxic Effects] - a review from the Science Creative Quarterly
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/akee.html Fruits of Warm Climates: Ackee]
* [http://www.montosogardens.com/blighia_sapida.htm Blighia sapida (Sapindaceae)]
[[Category:Sapindaceae]]
[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:National symbols of Jamaica]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]
