Common Name: Breadfruit

General Information

Artocarpus altilis is an evergreen tree with a wide crown; it can grow up to 30 metres tall, though is usually smaller[]. The straight, cylindrical bole, which is often buttressed, can be 1.8 metres in diameter[]. The tree can become deciduous when grown in areas with a distinct dry season[].
A multipurpose tree with a wide range of traditional uses as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is especially valued for its edible fruit and also provides a commercial timber known as 'terap'. The tree has been cultivated as a food crop since prehistory in Malaya[]. It is now widely cultivated in most tropical regions for its edible fruit and seeds and has become a staple food in many regions[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, western Pacific..

Habitat

Not known

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	18.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated

Cultivation Details

A plant of the humid tropics, growing best in lowland areas below 650 metres, though also succeeding at elevations up to 1,550 metres[]. It prefers a mean annual temperature in the range of 21 - 32°c, tolerating it as low as 12°c and as high as 40°c[, ]. Plants can be injured if temperatures drop below 5°c[]. Rainfall should be in the range1,500 - 2,500mm, exceptionally to 3,000mm[]. It prefers rainfall of fairly equal distribution but is quite tolerant of short dry periods[].
Prefers a deep, fertile, well-drained soil[, ]. Tolerant of a variety of soils so long as they are well drained[]. Young plants need some shade, but require increasing light levels as they mature[].
Trees usually produce two crops per year[].
Plants begin to crop when about 3 - 6 years old, eventually producing up to 700 fruits per tree annually[].
There are two main forms of the breadfruit, one with seeds and another that is seedless[]. The seedless form is the most common[]. There are some named varieties of each form[, ].

Edible Uses

Breadfruit is a versatile food that can be cooked and eaten at all stages of its development[]. The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked.
The unripe fruit, as small as 2 - 6cm in diameter, is eaten as a starchy vegetable with a flavour similar to that of artichoke hearts[]. It can be prepared in various ways including boiling, baking, added to soups, pickling etc[, ].
Ripe fruits are somewhat sweet and are occasionally eaten raw, but are more often cooked as a starchy vegetable or fermented into a cheese-like food[]. The mature fruit can be dried and ground into a flour[]. The mature fruit is about 20cm long[].
Compared with other staple starch crops, breadfruit is a better source of protein than is cassava; it is comparable to sweet potato and banana[]. It is a relatively good source of iron, calcium, potassium and riboflavin[].

Seed - cooked. Firm and close-textured, they are very nutritious, with a flavour somewhat reminiscent of chestnuts[, ]. They can be cooked with the raw breadfruit or removed and boiled or roasted[, ]. They are usually peeled before being eaten[]. Both fresh and cooked seeds contain about 8% protein[]. The seeds are low in fat compared with tree nuts such as almond, brazil nut and macadamia nut, which contain 50 - 70% fat[]. The seeds are a good source of minerals and contain more niacin than cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, pecans, black walnuts or chestnuts[].

Male inflorescence - cooked and used as a vegetable or used in the preparation of a sweetmeat[].

Medicinal

Breadfruit has a very wide range of applications in traditional medicine with all parts of the plant being utilised in the treatment of a range of conditions[]. Research has shown the presence of a number of active compounds in the plant:-
The fruit contains artocarpine and the enzyme papayotine[].
The leaf contains the phenols quercetin and camphorol, plus gamma-aminobutyric acid, which lowers the blood pressure[].
The stem-bark and fruit contain cyclopropane sterols[].

The toasted flowers are rubbed on the gums around aching teeth to ease pain[]. An extract from the flowers is effective in treating ear oedema[].

Latex is massaged into the skin to treat broken bones, bruises, sprains, abscesses etc, and is bandaged on the spine to relieve sciatica[, ]. It is commonly used to treat puncture wounds in the eyes[], skin ailments and fungal diseases such as thrush[, ]. The latter is also treated with crushed leaves[]. Diluted latex is taken internally to treat diarrhoea, stomach-ache and dysentery[]. Latex and juice from the crushed leaves are both traditionally used to treat ear infections[].

A filtrate of new, unfolded leaves is employed as a remedy for fish poisoning and as a muscle relaxant in cases of convulsive spasms[]. The yellowing leaf is brewed into a tea and taken to reduce high blood pressure[, ]. The tea is also thought to control diabetes[]. Hypertension and diabetes medications are prepared from a mixture of the boiled leaves of this species combined with Persea americana, Carica papaya and Annona muricata[]. The leaves are used in Taiwan to treat liver diseases and fevers[].

The root is an astringent and is used as a purgative[]. Pressed fluid of the root is used in the treatment of respiratory ailments which include difficult, painful breathing[]. When macerated it is used as a poultice for skin ailments[].

The bark is used to treat headache. Bark extracts exhibited strong cytotoxic activities against leukaemia cells in tissue culture, and extracts from roots and stem barks showed some antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and may have potential in treating tumours[].
Liquid squeezed from the bark or leaves is given to remedy chest pains and vomiting resulting from heart trouble[].
Pressed liquid from the stem bark is employed in the treatment of pain in the bones and maternal postpartum infections[]. The bark is also used to treat stomach aches and digestive tract problems[].

Fluid pressed from young fruit is given to treat an illness which causes pain in the lungs and vomiting of blood[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The breadfruit is an important component of traditional agroforestry systems in the Pacific Islands[]. The trees are integrated into mixed cropping systems with yams and other root crops, Piper methysticum, bananas and some cash crops, especially black pepper and coffee[].
The tree is sometimes used as a wind-break or shade tree for coffee plantations[].

Other Uses

The male flower spikes are blended with fibre of paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) to make elegant loincloths[].
The inner layer of bark, or bast, was used to make bark cloth (tapa)[, ]. Traditionally it had ceremonial and ritual uses, was also used for beddings and items of clothing such as cloaks, loincloths and robes[]. Breadfruit bast makes good cordage with a diverse range of uses such as harnesses for water buffalo and nets for catching sharks[].

The sticky, milky sap is a gum that is used to caulk canoes to make them watertight and can be used as an adhesive to seal and prepare wooden surfaces for painting[, ].

A sticky latex is present in all parts of the tree and has many uses. It is used as a chewing gum in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Can be used as an adhesive for bark cloth and for caulking canoes[, ]. The latex can be mixed with coconut oil for trapping houseflies[].

The inflorescence has been used to make a yellow tan to brown dye[].

The fat extracted from the seed is a light yellow liquid, viscous at room temperature, with a characteristic odour similar to that of peanuts. It has a chemical number and physical properties similar to those of olive oil[].

The dried, hard flowers can be burned as a mosquito repellent[, ].

The leaves are widely used as plates and also to wrap food for cooking and serving[, ].

The dried stipules or senescent leaves are slightly rough, and in Hawaii they were used to polish and smooth bowls and nuts strung for decorative purposes[].

The heartwood is golden speckled with orange, differentiated from the yellow or brownish-yellow sapwood. The golden yellow colour darkens with age. The texture is moderately coarse to coarse and even; the grain is interlocked. The wood is very light, durable, soft, but quite resistant in spite of its low specific gravity[]. It is generally easy to work; saws well; planes easily but leaves a rough finish on radial surfaces; bores and turns easily, but leaves a rough finish;nailing property is good; can be peeled satisfactorily and is suitable for plywood production. Traditionally it was widely used for the construction of houses and canoes because of its resistance to termites and marine worms. The wood is also used to make bowls, carvings, furniture and even surfboards[, ].
The trees are an important source of firewood in some areas[].

Propagation

Seed - best extracted from ripe fruits and sown immediately as they lose viability within a few weeks[, ]. They are planted about 5 cm apart and 1 cm deep[]. The seed germinates best at a temperature of 24 - 27c[]. Some 85% germinate about 2 weeks after sowing[]. The germination bed should be kept moist. Seedlings can be transplanted into individual containers as soon as they sprout[]. They grow quickly and are ready for planting in the field when they are about 1 year old[].
Root cuttings. These are best collected during the dormant season immediately preceding the renewal of growth, or at the beginning of that period, when carbohydrate stores in roots are highest[]. The dormant period (2-3 months) begins immediately after the crop ripens[].
Air layering.

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