Canistel, also know as yellow zapote (and often written as yellow sapote) is native to, and cultivated in, southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The edible part of the tree is its fruit, which is colloquially known as egg fruit.
In traditional medicine, the bark is used to treat skin eruptions and fevers and the seeds are used to treat ulcers.
Pouteria campechiana is rich in antioxidant nutrients that provide very high antioxidant activity. P. campechiana is hepatoprotective and prevents the formation of free radicals that occur in response to acetaminophen metabolism in the liver. P. campechiana possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-mitotic, and analgesic properties. Its leaves demonstrated immunostimulatory effects relating to the proliferation of macrophages and cytokines, and helped overall immune health.
The fruit presented very high levels of total carotenoids when compared to other fruits regularly consumed (Costa et al. 2010)
Costa, T. D. S. A., Wondracek, D. C., Lopes, R. M., Vieira, R. F., & Ferreira, F. R. (2010). Composição de carotenoides em canistel (Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni). Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, 32(3), 903–906. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0100-29452010005000083