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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, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.[1] It is related to the lychee and the longan, and is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The leaves are pinnate,[2] leathery, compound, 15–30 centimetres long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad. 
The flowers are unisexual and fragrant. They have five petals, are greenish-white[3] and bloom during warm months.[4] 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—arilli.[2]The fruit typically weighs 100–200 grams.[2] The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to England in 1793 and introduced it to science. The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.[5] 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.[6] Other names and variant spellings include Ackee, Akee, akee apple, Achee, or vegetable brain.
[edit] Cultivation and usesAlthough native to West Africa, consumption of ackee for food takes place mainly in Jamaican cuisine. Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and ackee and saltfish is the national dish. Ackee was first introduced to Jamaica and later to Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Barbados and others. It was later introduced to Florida in the United States. The oil of the ackee arils contains many important nutrients, especially fatty acids. Linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids are the primary fatty acids found in the fruit.[7] Ackee oil makes an important contribution to the diet of many Jamaicans. The dried seeds, fruit bark and leaves are used medicinally.[8] The fruit is used to produce soap in some parts of Africa. It is also used as a fish poison.[9] [edit] Preparing Ackees for consumption
The fruit of the Ackee is not edible in its entirety. Only the inner, fleshy yellow arils are consumed. The shiny black seeds at the tips of the arils, and the bright red pod enclosing 3 or 4 arils are discarded. Ackees must be harvested, prepared and cooked properly. Ackee pods should be allowed to ripen and open naturally on the tree before picking. Prior to cooking, the ackee arils must be cleaned, washed, boiled and the water discarded: unripe ackees and the inner red tissue of the ripe ackee arils contain potent alkaloid toxins (Hypoglycins A and B) which can produce a syndrome of vomiting, seizures and fatal hypoglycemia known as Jamaican vomiting sickness. Though it may be poisonous when improperly prepared, ackee has high nutritional value and is rich in essential fatty acids, vitamin A, zinc, and protein. They also make delicious fare when sauteed with onions, tomatoes and salted codfish in the Jamaican national dish and perennial dinner favorite "ackee and saltfish". "When picked before it is fully ripe, the fruit contains a chemical that limits the body’s ability to release the backup supply of glucose that is stored in the liver. That supply is essential because once the body uses up the sugar immediately available in the bloodstream an event that usually occurs several hours after eating it depends on this glucose to keep blood-sugar levels normal until the next meal. Without it, blood sugar plunges. Enough people have died from eating unripened ackee that it is illegal to bring the fruit into the U.S." (Source: The New York Times Sunday Magazine, October 12, 2008) [edit] Biochemistry of Ackee poisoningThe unripened or inedible portions of the fruit contain the toxins hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B. Hypoglycin A is found in both the seeds and the arilli, while hypoglycin B is found only in the seeds.[2] 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, carnitine and carnitine acyltransferases I and II[10] reducing their bioavailability and consequently inhibiting beta oxidation of fatty acids. Beta oxidation normally provides the body with ATP, NADH and acetyl CoA which is used to supplement the energy produced by glycolysis. Glucose stores are consequently depleted leading to hypoglycemia.[11] [edit] Economic importanceThe 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.[12] 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.[13]. The canning plant in Port-au-Prince is supplied with fruit from three commercial orchards on the outskirts of the city. [edit] References
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