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Botany
The vegetable is a corase, annual, herbaceous vine. Leaves are subrounded-ovate,
10-20 cm long, shallowly five-lobed, and heart-shaped at the base. Female
flowers are singly pedicelled in the axis of the leaves. Male flowers
are yellow, 2 cm long, in axillary racemes. Calyx lobes are lanceolate
and pointed. Fruit is oblong-oblanceolate, 20-25 cm long, about 5 cm
in diameter, with 10 prominent, longitudinal sharp angles. Seeds are
numerous and close-packed.
The sponge is derived from the
mature fruit as it dries into a matrix of stiff vascular bundle.
Distribution
Cultivated for its edible
fruit.
Constituents
Fruit contains a bitter
principle, luffeine.
Seed contains a fixed oil of glycerides of palmitic, stearic, and myristic
acids.
Fruit is considered demulcent, diuretic, nutritive.
Seeds considered purgative and emetic.
A good source of calcium, iron and phosphorus.
Parts
utiliezed and preparation
Leaves, fruit.
Uses
Nutrition
· Edible
• A good source of calcium, iron and phosphorus.
Folkloric
· Decoction of leaves for amenorrhea.
· Poultice of leaves for hemorrhoids.
· Juice of fresh leaves for conjunctivitis.
· Juice of leaves also used externally for sores and various
animal bites.
· Seed oil used for dermatitis.
· Infusion of seeds as purgative and emetic.
• In Russia, roots is used as a purge.
• In India, roots is used for dropsy
and as laxative; leaf and fruit juice used to treat jaundice.
• In Java, leaf decoction used for
uremia and amenorrhea.
• In Bangladesh, pounded leaves used
for hemorrhoids, splenitis, leprosy. Juice of leaces used for conjunctivitis
in children.
Others
· Fibrous nature
of the mature fruit, devoid of pulp, is used as a bath brush or sponge.
• In Chiina, has been used as a pesticide.
• Fibers sometimes used for making hats.
Studies
Availability
Cultivated.
Common market vegetable.
Seeds and sponges in the cybermarkets.
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