Like Paw Paws and their fruit relatives; many fruits have chemicals not good for heavier consumption. I am growing American Persimmon seedlings here. But solely for mostly wildlife food plot use.
I spent 35 years of my veterinary career as a diagnostic pathologist, performing post-mortem examinations on domestic livestock, pets, and wildlife. In that time, I have seen ONE persimmon bezoar, in a horse, obstructing the anterior duodenum.
Edit: The persimmons n bezoar was composed primarily of whole and partially-mastcated persimmon seeds - and, I presume - the fibrous capsule material enclosing the seeds, and some amount of ‘skin’
It is not a common occurrence, and not one that I worry about.
Most people don’t have access to persimmon trees which means their pets wouldn’t either.
Goats and cows, deer, being ruminants are well able to digest the fruit.
That is interesting about the horse !
I used to keep horses on another property where there were 2 American persimmon trees but as far as I know they didn’t have any problem.
They lived long lives, past 16 years.
The diagnosis for humans is frequently by CT or other imaging.
Most people whose dogs have an issue probably never suspect persimmons.
I had a dog who would eat every persimmon he could get. He died but I thought maybe a goat killed him. He didn’t have a lack of appetite, he died suddenly.
If anyone has more information on the levels of tannins etc in the
persimmon skin VS the fleshy pulp
please post here.
I have been searching what I can find on google scholar but haven’t seen that analysis.
Since American persimmon are so small it would be difficult to peel them if there is more danger in the skin vs the pulp.
My hope is that for the D. kaki, Asian types that it would be safer to cut the FULLY RIPE
persimmon in half and use a spoon to eat the flesh.
But that only makes sense if the tannins are very reduced then.
Also there are more than one type of tannin, that is another concern.
I am drinking 2 twelve ounce cans of CocaCola per day since I started learning about this.
Just in case it helps.
I have very mild symptoms, haven’t been diagnosed.
Risk factors: Eating unpeeled persimmons is a major risk factor, especially for those who have had stomach surgery or have other conditions that delay gastric emptying.
If you dont eat the skins… it reduces the risk.
I dont…
I have not suffered from bezoars, but I have suffered severe constipation after eating astringent persimmons. Moreover, I know an MD who spent significant time in Israel where he observed surgeries performed on ordinary people who had developed severe intestinal blockages from eating persimmons.
My understanding is that this outcome is common is East Asia and in the Mediterranean. I don’t think we should dismiss it.
Persimmon had lots of fibers so drink plenty of water after eat lots of them or else you ended up with constipation. I have been eating persimmons the last 40 years with no issues.
Is it common in those areas to eat the skins? Like some others have said my understanding is that the skin was the main issue. I don’t eat the skins for that reason and basically since I prefer just to eat the tasty middle.
@fruitforestNC8a how many persimmons were you eating per day and were you eating the skins?
Tannins are the issue, not skins per se. Skins might contribute if tannins tend to concentrate in skins. But there can definitely be tannins in the flesh.
My own assessment is that tannins may leave skin last as a persimmon ripens, especially skin near the shoulders where the fruit ripens last. But there’ll also be lots of tannins in the flesh of a not-fully-ripe persimmon.
I eat lots of persimmons, and I’m not suggesting that anyone stop. But I would suggest that people understand the risks. So (1) if a fruit lover becomes constipated (a rare event among fruit lovers), he/she should ask whether consumption of persimmons – especially slightly astringent persimmons – could be the cause. And (2) if a persimmon lover develops symptoms that could be diagnosed as an intestinal blockage, he/she should consider a persimmon bezoar as the cause.
Your insight could be very valuable. I can guarantee that your doctor won’t have “persimmon bezoar” near the top of his list when performing the differential diagnosis. Your help will be essential.
how much do you need to eat of them to make this happen? i tend to make jam, eat some fruit and share the rest around. ii don’t usually eat a whole lot of any one thing
I looked back at my fruit journal and I ate a LOT of wild American persimmon fruits.
They started dropping fully ripe August 15, 2025 from seven trees…. and are still dropping.
Over 80 days of indulging in persimmons
My conservative estimate is about 400 persimmons that I ate !
They are small and not worth the trouble to take skin off plus seeds are in them so I ate them whole and spit out the seeds.
Worst estimate is I may have eaten closer to 800 persimmons!
I ate 12 Lehmans Delight persimmons but those are much bigger than wild ones.
I didn’t eat the skins of the Lehmans Delight.
About the end of October I was feeling off …
I fasted twice and that always helps…
but a note that I ate 3 more persimmons (oh no!)
Then I realized that maybe a bezoar could be the cause of gut lethargy ?
I only read a little about bezoars two years ago when someone mentioned them on growingfruit.org.
November 7 I seriously suspect the persimmon bezoar !
That was when I stopped eating them completely.
November 8 I started the treatment advised for
two 12 oz cans of CocaCola per day to dissolve any possible bezoar.
I have read that taking celullase enzymes can help so those are coming in the mail today.
