Jujube, a super-fruit in traditional Chinese medicine, heading for modern pharmacological science

Chinese jujube (Zizyphus jujube Mill.) and Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) are largely use in traditional Asian medicine because of high nutritional composition. Its fruit is an edible oval drupe 1.5-3 cm long, varying from round to elongate and from cherry-size to plum-size depending on cultivar. The immature fruit is green in color and the fully mature fruit is entirely red. Under dry conditions, jujubes lose moisture, shrivel and become spongy inside. Jujube trees have stronger adaption to various biotic and abiotic stresses, especially salinity and drought. Chinese jujube is grown in temperate regions while Indian jujube is cultivated in hot arid regions of India. Jujube is cultivated from ancient time in China and reported that cultivated for last 5000 years. Chinese jujube is found in subtropics of Asia and largely in China. The jujube leaf, which is the main byproduct of jujube, has also been used in TCM for thousands of year to improve sleep, to nourish the heart and soothe the nerves, and to reduce hemorrhaging and diarrhea. Jujube contains 23 types of amino acids that are not found in most other kinds of fruits, and it has numerous health beneficial so it has famous as traditional and functional Chinese food. The major minerals in jujube is phosphorus, potassium, calcium and manganese. Also, there are also high amounts of sodium, zinc, copper and iron. It has also contains vitamin C, riboflavin and thiamine. Jujube usage in combination with other medicinal herbs and fruits have been used safely and effectively in traditional Chinese medicine for many years for various indications. What is necessary is more and better education on traditional Chinese medicine, fruits and herbs by experts and researchers as well as reasonable regulation by responsible government agencies. The development of a jujube industry will be beneficial in managing salinity and drought which are main challenges facing sustainability of production of this ancient Chinese fruit in the world. Jujube has numerous important pharmacological activities and it can be considered as a valuable source of nutraceuticals.