Worldwide Introduction of North American Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): Evidence Based on Scientific Reports

The North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small tree native to the Appalachian region of the United States that produces large, yellowish-green to brown fruit that has the flavor of a banana and mango. The scope of this review is limited to pawpaw orchards outside of North America that were intentionally planted for commercial or research purposes and are documented in the scientific literature. This review identified nine countries outside of North America (Romania, Italy, Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria, Georgia, Russia, Japan, Korea) and across two continents that have scientific literature that describes pawpaw cultivation. There are reports that pawpaws are cultivated in China, Israel, Belgium, and Portugal, however, no scientific literature could be found that describes pawpaw research from these countries. Most of the research since 2010 has featured pawpaws grown in Romania, Italy, and Korea with a focus on characterizing roots, twigs, leaves, pulp and seeds or the toxicity and/or bioactivity of the annonaceous acetogenins naturally found in these parts of the pawpaw.