Annona atemoya also known as the custard apple is a hybrid between two Annonaceae species: Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) and the sugar apple (Annona squamosa). It is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical continents including north and south America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Despite becoming an increasingly important commercial fruit plant due to its' creamy succulent flesh, compared to other Annonaceae species relatively few studies have investigated the phytochemistry and bioactivities of A. atemoya. Studies that evaluated A. atemoya extracts and its constituents were searched through the databases Scopus, Pubmed and Embase from inception to June 2020. Constituents of A. atemoya include alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes and acetogenins. The results indicate that the constituents of A. atemoya possess cytotoxic, anti-angiogenic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. However, many of these studies are currently limited in quality and further phytochemical and pharmacological studies are required.
Keywords: Annona atemoya; bioactivity; custard apple; nutraceutical; pharmacological activity; phytochemistry.