What Is Pineapple Stem Extract? An Ingredient Explainer

Not the fruit: the stem of the pineapple plant

When most people think of pineapple they picture the golden fruit, with its spiky crown and sweet, tangy flesh. Pineapple stem extract, however, comes from a different part of the plant. As the name says, it is made from the stem, the thick central stalk that runs up through the middle of the pineapple plant and supports the fruit.

The pineapple plant is known botanically as Ananas comosus. It is a tropical plant in the bromeliad family, and it grows as a low, spiky rosette of long, stiff leaves. The fruit itself forms at the top of a stalk growing from the center. That central stalk, tougher than the fruit and much less sweet, is what an extract manufacturer works with.

LungFresh names Pineapple Stem in its botanical blend. This guide explains what the ingredient is, where the plant grows and how to read the name on a label.

A quick look at the plant

Pineapple is a native of South America, where it was grown for centuries before European explorers carried it around the world. Today it is cultivated in warm regions on several continents, including parts of Southeast Asia, Central America, South America and Africa.

The plant is unusual in a few ways. Each pineapple fruit is not one fruit but a cluster of many small fruitlets that have fused together, which is why the surface has its familiar diamond pattern. The plant is also remarkably tough, with waxy leaves that suit warm, sunny climates.

After the fruit is harvested, the rest of the plant, including the stem, is often left over. Much of the plant has traditionally been used for fiber or animal feed, and the stem is a well-known by-product of pineapple farming and processing.

• Botanical name: Ananas comosus
• Plant family: bromeliads
• Origin: South America, now grown in many tropical regions
• Stem: the central stalk beneath the fruit

What an extract is

The word extract appears on a great many supplement labels, and it is worth understanding. An extract is made by taking the plant material, here the stem, and processing it with a solvent such as water, sometimes alongside other methods. The liquid that results is then concentrated and usually dried into a powder.

The purpose of an extract is to turn a bulky plant part into a compact ingredient that is easier to handle, measure and place in a capsule. The result is not the whole stem but a concentrated form of what was drawn out of it.

Labels may describe this with phrases such as Pineapple Stem Extract, Ananas comosus (stem) extract, or a ratio like 10:1. A ratio tells you roughly how many parts of raw plant were used to make one part of extract.

The compounds a pineapple stem naturally contains

Like any plant part, a pineapple stem is a mixture of many natural substances: fibers, small amounts of plant carbohydrates, minerals and a group of naturally occurring plant enzymes. Enzymes are proteins made by living things, and every plant makes many of them. The pineapple plant is well known to food scientists for the particular enzymes it contains in both the fruit and the stem.

In practical terms, this is why the stem is the part used for extracts: it is where manufacturers typically find these enzymes in a form that is convenient to work with. Other than that, the stem has no flavor profile to speak of and does not resemble the fruit at all.

Whenever you notice an ingredient like this on a label, remember that it is a naturally derived plant material, and that the label is only naming it, not describing the way anyone should expect to feel.

How the name appears in a blend

On the LungFresh panel, Pineapple Stem is one of the entries in a botanical blend. The blend lists Mullein Leaf, Pineapple Stem, Maritime Pine Bark, Stinging Nettle Root, Tiger Milk Mushroom, Quercetin and Black Pepper Fruit Extract.

In a blend, the panel gives one combined amount for the group, and the ingredients inside are listed in descending order by amount. That means each name tells you only what is included, and the order tells you its relative share by amount. The bottle label has the exact wording and numbers.

Other products may write the same ingredient a little differently. Pineapple Stem Extract, Ananas comosus Stem Extract, and Pineapple Stem Powder are all variations you might come across on shelves. They refer to the same plant part, but the form differs between an extract and a plain powder.

Everyday tips for label reading

If you are comparing products, a few habits will make the Pineapple Stem line easy to read. Look at whether the label names the plant part: stem, fruit and leaf are different materials. Check whether the label says extract or powder. Look at whether the ingredient sits in a blend or on its own line.

With LungFresh, the product is a daily capsule supplement for adults, and the suggested use is two capsules a day with a glass of water, about six to eight ounces, or as the label directs. A bottle contains 60 capsules and should be kept in a cool, dry place.

Understanding the plant behind an ingredient name makes shopping more enjoyable. Pineapple stem is simply a part of a familiar tropical plant that most of us know only from the fruit aisle.

• Is the plant part named: stem, fruit or leaf?
• Does the label say extract or powder?
• Is the ingredient on its own line or inside a blend?
• Is the Latin name given in brackets?