GUATEMALA, PETÉN
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RAMON SEED
Once a staple food crop of Maya civilization, the ramón is a seed of an abundant, naturally occurring canopy tree called Brosimum alicastrum. The seed continues to be utilized in local diet, but even more is becoming a community and family practice that benefits their livelihoods through the development of ramón-based products and supports animal and environmental well-being through sustainable wild harvesting.
Juan Trujillo
Rainforest Alliance, Petén
“It was very utilized by our ancestors and our grandparents. In my case, I still eat it a lot, baked, and made into tortillas.”
José Román
Rainforest Alliance, Latin America
"The ramón seed is a species that nourishes not only humans, but also the birds and mammals."
NUTRITIONAL FACTS
Many regard the ramon seed as a superfood because of its nutritional value. Eaten raw certainly provided the Mayans many benefits. Also, there are endless amount of opportunities to make ramon into a food product.
Nutritional Components of the Ramon Seed
Dr. George Annor, a food scientist at the University of Minnesota, is researching the nutritional components of the Ramón seed and innovating new ways to process it. He explains that “ramón has a lot of carbohydrates it's a very good source of energy” and finding that it is made up of lots of starch and fiber as well as vitamins and minerals.
Ramon Facts
100% Free of Gluten, Dairy, Pesticides and Allegens
High in potassium, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, zinc, protein
0% caffeine
Dried ramon seeds have a moisture content of 6.05% with 350 calories per 100 grams of seed
Caroline MacDogall
Founder and CEO of Teeccino Caffé
"Ramón seed itself is very high in antioxidants. It has been compared to nuts like almonds, pecans, cashews, and walnuts that all contain antioxidants.
Of all of the nuts that we commonly eat in America walnuts have the highest value of antioxidants and the ramon seed has been compared at that same level as walnuts for its antioxidant effects."
Dr. George Annor
Food scientist, University of Minnesota
“Now potassium is another one that has been identified in ramón as having a significant amount. Potassium is very important in what we call a sodium-potassium pump, so potassium helps to reduce sodium in the body and if you reduce sodium in the body it actually has an effect on blood pressure.”
Nutritional Resources
