Description

Annona squamosa, the custard apple or sugar apple, is a deciduous tropical tree of the family Annonaceae, native to the Caribbean and Central American lowlands, introduced to India by the Portuguese in the 16th century and now cultivated extensively in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. The sweet, creamy, edible fruit is a commercially important tropical crop. The black, hard seeds — Shareefa Beej — contain annonaceous acetogenins including squamocin and bullatacin, compounds with documented potent insecticidal and cytotoxic properties that have attracted significant phytochemical research. In classical Ayurvedic and folk pharmaceutical tradition, the powdered seed paste has been incorporated in external preparations for lice infestation and scalp conditions. The seeds are documented in Siddha medicine for specific parasitic applications.