Introduction
Persimmons are delicious and nutritious fruits that are considered a superfood. Consuming the fruit has a strong antioxidant potential, contributing to overall wellness. Antioxidants are compounds that help neutralize free radicals in the body, which are unstable molecules that can cause unknowingly cellular damage and ultimately lead to food-related health conditions which include cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Origin and growth
Persimmons are a popular and potent fruit, derived from the Ebenaceae plant commonly grown in East Asian countries. However, recently the supply and demand has grown outside of its traditional region of production. Persimmons have become an encouraging crop in South America as well as in Europe.1
Appearance and seasonality
Persimmon is primarily a spherical fruit with a colour, determined by its carotene content; which varies from orange-red, as shown in Image 1. Persimmons are seasonal fruits and can be commonly purchased in a short time window in late autumn to early winter.
Nutritional content of persimmon
Direito reported that the actual nutritional value lies in the fruit’s skin rather than in the pulp. Although, this is usually unknown to consumers and the skin of the fruit is discarded when consumed with a spoon.1

The usage of persimmon has also been utilised in traditional Chinese medicine for its beneficial effects on health.
Health benefits
For example in hypertension, maintaining body temperature as well as slowing down oxidative processes in general. Studies have shown an effect on diabetes and atherosclerosis due to persimmon’s diuretic effect.2 The fruit has also been shown to improve the function of the lungs, stomach, spleen and the intestines.
As well as to prevent and treat sore throat, thrush and insomnia. Major health benefits have been associated with richness in antioxidants including vitamins, phenolic compounds, and carotenoids. These are known to contribute to preventing tumours. In addition, there is evidence portraying persimmons and their functional constituents particularly proanthocyanidins can aid in hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia.2
Nutritional composition
Persimmon has a high nutritional value as it contains an array of different compounds such as different sugars, starch, organic acids and amino acids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, triterpenoids, carotenoids and fatty acids as well as proteins, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and D. The overall composition of the pulp is mainly composed of 80.3% water, 0.19% total lipids, 0.58% protein and 18.6% of total carbohydrates. Persimmons are also rich in mineral content, fibre and ascorbic acid.1
Natural sugars and mineral content
This appetising and nutritious food has 12.5g of natural sugars fructose, glucose, and sucrose present in 100g of fruit. As well as a crucial mineral composition, for example, if an individual was to consume 400g of persimmon they would be consuming 10% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for calcium, 15% for iron and magnesium, 30% for copper and potassium, up to 4% for zinc and 1% for sodium. Persimmons are also rich in carotenoids even though they are largely found in the peel.
Carotenoid content
The actual fruit does contain large amounts of compounds that are responsible for the colour of the fruits; this tends to increase as the fruit ripens. There are 2mg of carotenoids in 100g of fruit, this corresponds to 22% of the RDA of vitamin A. This has suggested that degenerative diseases have been reduced due to the antioxidant capacity and free radical uptake properties.1
Vitamin C variability
The consistency of vitamin C in persimmon is variable due to environmental factors such as the inherent qualities, the time of harvesting as well as the general condition of the fruit. The daily reference of consuming vitamin C per day is 80mg. Research has shown consuming a persimmon of an average weight of 263.3g can supply around 46% of this vitamin’s daily requirements.3
Phenolic compounds
Another beneficial antioxidant phenolic compounds (PCs) can be found in many foods that are in the human diet including fruits, vegetables and beverages. PCs are an identifiable biomarker in the persimmon. Similarly to carotenoids PCs are more opulent in the peel when compared to the pulp.4
There is interest and ongoing research into phenolic compounds due to their antioxidant capability. Particularly due to its preventative and co-adjuvant ability in treating various types of cancers and cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, PCs also hold other characteristics such as anti-tumour, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties.5
Comparison of phenolic content
Research by Chen and colleagues showed the content of persimmon containing individual and total phenols compared to fruits including apples, grapes and tomatoes.6
Table 1 summarises the findings reported by Chen. This shows that the content of total phenolic compounds was eight times greater in persimmons than that of tomatoes. This is in line with the high antioxidant capacity of the persimmon extract. Another research study obtained similar findings that portrayed the content of total phenolic compounds in persimmons as greater than that of apples.7
Fruit | Total phenolic compounds in 100g ofdried-weight fruit (mg/g) |
Persimmon | 170 mg/100 g |
Grape | 100 mg/100 g |
Apple | 40 mg/100 g |
Tomato | 20 mg/100g |
Post-harvest processing and waste reduction
Persimmon is a highly perishable fruit and spoils quickly, to combat this issue the fruit could be converted to edible food products. An important way to increase the usage of fruits and vegetables while avoiding waste is to produce semi-finished products such as juices, purees and yoghurts. Direitodiscussed utilising persimmon peels as an emulsifier with antioxidant activity.
Emulsifiers are essential for the food industry, they are commonly used to improve the texture and taste of food, using a persimmon-based emulsifier provides a promising alternative that can be used in the food industry. In the last decade, there has been a population demand for natural emulsifiers due to their food acceptability and plentiful sources.1
Persimmons in cheese and yoghurt production
Research has been conducted to investigate the impact of persimmons on the characteristics of sweet or salted-processed cheese. Two types of cheese constituted persimmon. In addition to the control sample, one sample of cheese was merged with 20% of persimmon juice and 12% sugar and the second sample was merged with 20% of persimmon juice and 5% salt. After an organoleptic assessment, results showed that the sweetened cheese samples achieved higher scores in terms of flavour and overall acceptability. However, the findings did demonstrate that it did portray a low degree in texture, colour, as well as spreading quality.1
Persimmons in Yoghurt
Research has also been conducted to investigate persimmon fruit and yoghurt. There was an increase in functional as well as nutritional benefits of combining the two in yoghurt production at concentrations of 10% and 12% of persimmon marmalade and puree. Findings were reported that persimmon marmalade which consisted of 12% had a greater sensory evaluation.
On the other hand, samples of persimmon puree presented lower antioxidant activity in comparison to other samples. The usage of yoghurt and persimmon marmalade showed an overall positivity in taste, appearance, structure, scent, overall sweetness and acceptability.
In the samples that were investigated with persimmon puree dried persimmon fruit was used which may have affected the validity of the research as it provided lower sensory scores. This research study concluded that persimmon marmalade could be effectively utilised as an alternative to persimmon.8
Persimmons in cupcake production
Another research by Abdallah and colleagues proceeded with similar findings. Cupcakes were experimented with by adding different amounts of persimmon puree to achieve an improvement in the nutritional and antioxidant ratio in the cupcakes. The cupcake that contained persimmon puree had larger amounts of vitamin C, and total phenolic compounds and portrayed higher physical, chemical and organoleptic traits as well as increased antioxidant activity, in comparison to the control sample.9
Summary
Persimmon is a nourishing fruit that holds a rich antioxidant characteristic due to the wholesome consistency of phenolic compounds, vitamin C, and carotenoids. These elements are responsible for reducing oxidative damage and ultimately associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The fruit also has been shown to have deterrent effects on the arteriosclerotic process as well as preventing metabolic syndrome.
Direito has suggested increasing the availability of persimmon due to the nutritional and functional value of new products should be developed. As the fruit is a perishable and seasonal fruit consumers could be offered new possibilities for powders, flours and juices to be included in the food formulation. This would improve the content of bioactive compounds and its bioaccessibility.
Products such as juices, purees, and pulps could be manufactured with better storage stability and hot air drying of persimmon slices could be utilised for dried chip production. Further research could be conducted to investigate semi-finished food produced that contains persimmon performed over a certain time frame. This could allow consumers optional food storage opportunities.
References
- Direito, R, Rocha, J, Sepodes, B, Eduardo- Figuiera, M, “From Diospyros Kaki L. (Persimmon) Phytochemical Profile and Health Impact to New Product Perspectives and Waste Valorization.” Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 9, Sept. 2021, p. 3283. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093283
- Briand, C. H. “The Common Persimmon (Diospyros Virginiana L.): The History of an Underutilized Fruit Tree (16th-19th Centuries).” Huntia, vol. 12, no. 1, 2005, pp. 1–19, https://doi.org/https://faculty.salisbury.edu/~chbriand/PDFs/Huntia05.pdf.
- Rao, A., and L. Rao. “Carotenoids and Human Health.” Pharmacological Research, vol. 55, no. 3, Mar. 2007, pp. 207–16. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2007.01.012
- Gorinstein, S, Zemser, M, Weisz, M, Halevy, S, Deutsch, J, Tilis, K, Feintuch, D, Guerra, N, Fishman, M, Bartnikowska, E, “Fluorometric Analysis of Phenolics in Persimmons.” Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, vol. 58, no. 6, Jan. 1994, pp. 1087–92. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.58.1087
- Rahman, I, Biswas, S, K, Kirkham, P, “Regulation of Inflammation and Redox Signaling by Dietary Polyphenols.” Biochemical Pharmacology, vol. 72, no. 11, Nov. 2006, pp. 1439–52. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2006.07.004
- Chen, X. N, Fan, J. F, Yue, X, Wu, X, R, “Radical Scavenging Activity and Phenolic Compounds in Persimmon ( Diospyros Kaki L. Cv. Mopan).” Journal of Food Science, vol. 73, no. 1, Jan. 2008. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00587.x
- Gorinstein S., Zachwieja Z., Folta M., Barton H., Piotrowicz J., Zemser M., Weisz M., Trakhtenberg S., Martin-Belloso O. ‘Comparative contents of dietary fiber, total phenolics, and minerals in persimmons and apples’ J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001;49:952–957. doi: 10.1021/jf000947k
- Arslan, Seher, and Selma Bayrakçi. “Physicochemical, Functional, and Sensory Properties of Yogurts Containing Persimmon.” Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, vol. 40, 2016, pp. 68–74. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1406-150
- Abdallah D.A., El-Mageed A, Siliha H, Rabie M, ‘Physicochemical Characteristics of Persimmon Puree and its utilization in cupcake’ Zagazig J. Agric. Res. 2017;44:2629–2640