NutriDex

The Supplement Research Compendium
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Sugar Apple (Custard Apple)

Annona squamosa

Sweet tropical fruit with a neurotoxin caveat

Preliminary evidence 🍎Fruits

✚ Updated · How we grade evidence

Evidence tier
Preliminary
Research weight
Citations
10 verified / 10
Classification
Fruits
❝
What the evidence says. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive.

Nutrition per serving 1 medium (155 g)

155gSERVING
  • Water 113.5 g74%
  • Sugars 28 g18%
  • Fibre 6.8 g4%
  • Other carbs 1.8 g1%
  • Protein 3.2 g2%
  • Fat 0.5 g0%
What's in one serving, by weight — average composition (USDA).
Vitamin C62%Fiber24%Vitamin B618%Thiamin (B1)14%Potassium8%Magnesium8%
One serving as % of the adult daily requirement (FDA Daily Values). The bold outer ring = 100% of a day's needs.
146 kcal3.2 g protein6.8 g fiber0.5 g fat
NutrientPer serving% daily value
Vitamin C56 mg62%
Fiber6.8 g24%
Vitamin B60.31 mg18%
Thiamin (B1)0.17 mg14%
Potassium383 mg8%
Magnesium33 mg8%
Calcium37 mg3%
Iron0.93 mg5%

Composition data: USDA FoodData Central ↗

What is Sugar Apple (Custard Apple)?

Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) (Annona squamosa) is a fruit used for good source of vitamin c and dietary fiber (whole-food nutrition). NutriDex grades the human evidence as Preliminary. Sugar apple is a nutritious tropical fruit, supplying meaningful vitamin C, fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium per serving, so its core value is as whole-food nutrition. The popular medicinal claims — antidiabetic, antioxidant, lipid-lowering, antihypertensive and anticancer effects — rest almost entirely on in vitro work and rodent studies of leaf, bark or seed extracts, not the edible pulp, and there are essentially no rigorous human randomized trials of the fruit. Repeated animal studies do show that aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts lower fasting glucose and improve lipid profiles in diabetic rats and rabbits, which is consistent across labs but not validated in people. The most important human-relevant signal is a safety concern rather than a benefit: the genus Annona is rich in annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, squamocin), potent mitochondrial complex I inhibitors that are neurotoxic in cell and rodent models. Epidemiology and a 180-patient Caribbean cohort link consumption of Annonaceae fruit, juice and herbal tea to worse, often levodopa-unresponsive atypical parkinsonism and greater cognitive impairment, even at relatively low cumulative intake. Acetogenins are concentrated in the seeds, peel and leaves, with smaller amounts in pulp, so occasional whole-fruit eating is generally considered low risk while heavy or daily consumption — and especially seed/leaf preparations — is not. Overall the human evidence is preliminary: enjoy the fruit as food, but treat therapeutic and "superfood" claims as unproven.

Purported Benefits

✓Good source of vitamin C and dietary fiber (whole-food nutrition)
✓Antioxidant capacity from polyphenols and ascorbate (mostly in vitro)
✓Antidiabetic / blood-glucose-lowering effect of leaf extracts (animal models only)
✓Lipid-profile improvement (lower cholesterol/triglycerides in diabetic rodents)
✓Anticancer/cytotoxic activity of seed acetogenins (cell and animal studies only)
✓Traditional antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory uses (preclinical)

Dosing & Compounds

Typical Dose
1 medium fruit (about 155 g edible pulp); the seeds, peel, leaves and roots should not be eaten.
Active Compounds
Annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, squamocin, bullatacin) — mitochondrial complex I inhibitors / neurotoxinsIsoquinoline alkaloids (anonaine, higenamine, reticuline)Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)Dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble)Flavonoids and phenolic acids (quercetin, rutin, gallic/caffeic acid)Diterpenes and kaurane-type terpenoidsPotassium and magnesium (electrolyte minerals)B-vitamins (thiamin, vitamin B6)

Safety & Cautions

Never eat or chew the seeds, and avoid leaf, bark and root preparations: they are concentrated in neurotoxic annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, squamocin), and crushed seeds/seed oil are irritant and toxic to the eyes (documented cases of severe keratoconjunctivitis from accidental ocular exposure). Regular or heavy intake of the fruit, juice or Annonaceae herbal teas is epidemiologically associated with atypical parkinsonism and cognitive decline, so limit frequency, especially in older adults or those with movement/neurodegenerative disorders. Leaf extracts lower blood glucose in animals, so there is a theoretical additive effect with antidiabetic drugs (hypoglycemia) — monitor if using such preparations. The pulp is high in natural sugars; portion accordingly in diabetes. Pregnancy/lactation: insufficient safety data for medicinal extracts — avoid. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) with any medicine.

Key Studies ★ 10 studies

Clinical cohort study Cleret de Langavant 2022 ✓ PubMed
In 180 Caribbean parkinsonian patients, even low cumulative Annonaceae fruit/juice intake (>0.2 fruit-years) or any Annonaceae herbal tea was associated with the severe-symptom cluster (worse disease severity and cognitive deficits): OR fruits/juices 3.76 (95% CI 1.13-15.18); OR herbal tea 2.91 (95% CI 1.34-6.56).
Review Lannuzel 2006 ✓ PubMed
Review linking an atypical levodopa-unresponsive parkinsonism cluster in Guadeloupe to Annonaceae consumption; annonacin was toxic to dopaminergic neurons at nanomolar concentrations, far more potent than the alkaloids (which required micromolar levels).
Analytical chemistry study Bonneau 2017 ✓ PubMed
LC-MS/MS quantification found the neurotoxic acetogenin squamocin at 13.5-36.4 mg per Annona squamosa fruit across Asian, Caribbean and Indian Ocean batches, plus annonacin and bullatacin, concluding the fruit should be considered a neurodegeneration risk factor.
Animal study Ranjana 2014 ✓ PubMed
Hexane extract of A. squamosa acted via a dual mechanism in STZ-diabetic rats: it raised insulin secretion and inhibited intestinal alpha-glucosidase, reducing post-load glucose peaks and AUC.
Animal study Kaur 2012 ✓ PubMed
Combining aqueous A. squamosa leaf extract (350 mg/kg) with the sulfonylurea glipizide controlled hyperglycemia better than either alone in high-fat-diet/STZ type-2 diabetic rats and allowed up to 50% glipizide dose reduction.
Animal mechanistic study Champy 2004 ✓ PubMed
Systemic annonacin (the major Annona acetogenin) crossed the blood-brain barrier in rats, lowered brain ATP 44%, and caused dopaminergic nigral neuron loss (-31.7%) plus striatal cholinergic (-37.9%) and GABAergic (-39.3%) loss, mirroring atypical parkinsonism lesions.
Animal study Kaleem 2006 ✓ PubMed
Aqueous A. squamosa leaf extract given to streptozotocin-diabetic rats for 30 days significantly lowered blood glucose, lipids and lipid peroxidation while raising plasma insulin and antioxidant enzyme activity.
Animal study Gupta 2008 ✓ PubMed
Water extract of A. squamosa leaves (350 mg/kg) in type-2 diabetic rats increased tissue antioxidant enzymes and reduced malondialdehyde, triglycerides and total cholesterol.
Animal study Shirwaikar 2004 ✓ PubMed
Aqueous A. squamosa leaf extract over 12 days lowered fasting plasma glucose, improved serum insulin and lipid profile and raised liver glycogen in streptozotocin-nicotinamide type-2 diabetic rats, compared against glibenclamide.
Animal study Gupta 2005 ✓ PubMed
Ethanolic A. squamosa leaf extract (350 mg/kg) cut fasting blood glucose 73.3% over 10 days in STZ-diabetic rats and improved the lipid profile in alloxan-diabetic rabbits (total cholesterol -49.3%, LDL -71.9%, triglycerides -28.7%, HDL +30.3%).
10 sources cited · 10 verified Search all studies on PubMed ↗

Common questions about Sugar Apple (Custard Apple)

What is Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) used for?

Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) is most often taken for Good source of vitamin C and dietary fiber (whole-food nutrition), Antioxidant capacity from polyphenols and ascorbate (mostly in vitro), Antidiabetic / blood-glucose-lowering effect of leaf extracts (animal models only), Lipid-profile improvement (lower cholesterol/triglycerides in diabetic rodents). Sweet tropical fruit with a neurotoxin caveat

Does Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) work — what does the evidence say?

Preliminary evidence. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive. Sugar apple is a nutritious tropical fruit, supplying meaningful vitamin C, fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium per serving, so its core value is as whole-food nutrition. The popular medicinal claims — antidiabetic, antioxidant, lipid-lowering, antihypertensive and anticancer effects — rest almost entirely on in vitro work and rodent studies of leaf, bark or seed extracts, not the edible pulp, and there are essentially no rigorous human randomized trials of the fruit. Repeated animal studies do show that aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts lower fasting glucose and improve lipid profiles in diabetic rats and rabbits, which is consistent across labs but not validated in people. The most important human-relevant signal is a safety concern rather than a benefit: the genus Annona is rich in annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, squamocin), potent mitochondrial complex I inhibitors that are neurotoxic in cell and rodent models. Epidemiology and a 180-patient Caribbean cohort link consumption of Annonaceae fruit, juice and herbal tea to worse, often levodopa-unresponsive atypical parkinsonism and greater cognitive impairment, even at relatively low cumulative intake. Acetogenins are concentrated in the seeds, peel and leaves, with smaller amounts in pulp, so occasional whole-fruit eating is generally considered low risk while heavy or daily consumption — and especially seed/leaf preparations — is not. Overall the human evidence is preliminary: enjoy the fruit as food, but treat therapeutic and "superfood" claims as unproven.

What is the typical dose of Sugar Apple (Custard Apple)?

1 medium fruit (about 155 g edible pulp); the seeds, peel, leaves and roots should not be eaten.

Is Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) safe? Any cautions or side effects?

Never eat or chew the seeds, and avoid leaf, bark and root preparations: they are concentrated in neurotoxic annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, squamocin), and crushed seeds/seed oil are irritant and toxic to the eyes (documented cases of severe keratoconjunctivitis from accidental ocular exposure). Regular or heavy intake of the fruit, juice or Annonaceae herbal teas is epidemiologically associated with atypical parkinsonism and cognitive decline, so limit frequency, especially in older adults or those with movement/neurodegenerative disorders. Leaf extracts lower blood glucose in animals, so there is a theoretical additive effect with antidiabetic drugs (hypoglycemia) — monitor if using such preparations. The pulp is high in natural sugars; portion accordingly in diabetes. Pregnancy/lactation: insufficient safety data for medicinal extracts — avoid.

How many studies support Sugar Apple (Custard Apple)?

NutriDex cites 10 sources for Sugar Apple (Custard Apple), graded "Preliminary".

Cite this page
APA

Peh, D. (2026). Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) (Annona squamosa): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects & Evidence. NutriDex — The Supplement Research Compendium. Retrieved 26 Jun 2026, from https://nutridex.info/s/sugar-apple

BibTeX
@misc{nutridex_sugar_apple,
  author       = {Peh, Daryl},
  title        = {Sugar Apple (Custard Apple) (Annona squamosa): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects \& Evidence},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {NutriDex --- The Supplement Research Compendium},
  url          = {https://nutridex.info/s/sugar-apple},
  note         = {Reviewed by Dr Daryl Peh, MBBS Singapore, MMed FM. Accessed 2026-06-26}
}

For medical claims, citing the underlying primary studies linked above is preferred. NutriDex is an educational reference, not medical advice.

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