Dried fruits.Ruta "Tena Adam" in coffee in Ethiopia
Ruta chalepensis is a species of flowering plant in the Rutaceae family known by the common name fringed rue.[1] It is native to the Mediterranean and is found elsewhere as an introduced species.[2] It is a perennial herb growing up to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are compound, each divided into several segments which are subdivided into smaller leaflets. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers, each with four or five bright yellow petals with rolled, fringed edges. The fruit is a textured capsule which is divided into pointed lobes.
R. chalepensis is the original source of the chemical compound chalepensin.[4]
Culinary
R. chalepensis is an introduced species in Ethiopia, where it is cultivated in gardens in almost every province of the country and used as a culinary herb. The seeds are used to flavour wats and the leaves as a condiment in coffee and tea.[5] Called Tena adam (Adam's health) in Amharic, it is used in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.[6] Its dried fruit are marketed as a spice in Western countries, often under the name "passion berries" since the odour is said to resemble passion fruit.[7][8][9]
^"Ruta chalepensis". Kew Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 21 June 2023., distribution map.
^al-Said, M. S., et al. (1990). Studies on Ruta chalepensis, an ancient medicinal herb still used in traditional medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 28:3 305-12.
^Brooker, Robert M.; Eble, John N.; Starkovsky, Nicolas A. (1967). "Chalepensin, chalepin, and chalepin acetate, three novel furocoumarins from ruta chalepensis". Lloydia. 30 (1): 73–77.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Goettsch, E. (1991). "Spice germplasm in Ethiopia". In Engels, J.M.M.; Hawkes, J.G.; Worede, Melaku (eds.). Plant Genetic Resources of Ethiopia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-384567., p.128.
^Egata, Desta Fikadu; Gosa, Aynalem (2020). "Ethiopian Rue (Ruta chalapensis L.) Genotypes Morphological and Biological Performance at Different Locations of Southern Ethiopia". Medicinal Chemistry. 10 (10): 1–5. doi:10.37421/mccr.2020.10.565 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link).
^"Tena'adam". Deperwinkel. 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023..
