Gen info
- Melothria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, native to the Americas from the United States to Argentina, with introductions in Africa and elsewhere. A number of Old World species formerly in Melothria have been reassigned to Cucumis. (15)
- Etymology: The genus name melothria derives from ancient Greek Melothron, meaning "apple" or "little apple", with uncertainty as to what plant it initially referred to. (11) The specific epithet 'pendula' means "hanging".

Botany
• Pipinong-gubat is a perennial prostrate or climbing vine with thin and smooth stems and coiled tendrils, growing to a length of six feet or more. Leaves are alternate, toothed, shallowly or deeply five-lobed, reaching a length of 5 to 7 centimeters. Flowers are tiny, yellow, with five petals, about 0.8 centimeter wide. Fruit is a tiny, green to black, smooth, and watermelon-like berry, oblong-elliptic, 10 to 19 millimeters long, about 12 millimeters in diameter, with white spots when young, dangling at the end of the pedicel.

• Growth form: Herbaceous vine with a trailing or climbing growth habit. Foliage: Green leaves are 3- to 5-lobed and have palmate venation (5 cm long). Stems: Stem produces coiled tendrils that help the vine to climb upwards. Flowers: Small, cup-shaped flowers are composed of 5 yellow, round lobes. Fruit: Small, round to oblong fruits hang down from the stem (1-2 cm long). The smooth, shiny fruit is intially dark green with light green spots, but gradually turns black. (FLORA & FAUNA WEB)

Constituents
- Phytochemical screening of ethanolic leaf extracts have yielded alkaloids, anthraquinones, quinones, saponins, steroids, tannins, terpenoids, and xanthoproteins, with absence of carotenoids, coumarins, and flavonoids. (10)

Properties
- Leaves smell like cucumber; fruit tastes like cucumber.
- Toxicity: Toxicity is only related to consumption of ripe, black berries which is produces a drastic purgative effect.  Unripe and green berries can be eaten raw. Roots, leaves, vines, and flowers have not been reported as toxic to humans. Dogs are known to eat the leaves without apparent side effects.
- Studies have suggest antibacterial, hypoglycemic, antiviral, molluscicidal, α-glucosidase inhibitory properties.

Parts used
Leaves, tendrils, fruit.

Uses
Edibility
- Young fruits are edible; eaten fresh or pickled, boiled, steam or stir-fried.
- Best eaten when fruits are unripe, green, crispy and juicy; also used as salad ingredient.  Small, it has the taste of cucumber; full-sized green, it tastes like watermelon or melon.
- Avoid the dark green or black fruits as they may cause rapid and drastic diarrhea.
- In Thailand and Mexico, leaves, young shoots, tops of stems reportedly eaten, raw or cooked.
Folkloric
- In Surinam, infusion of tendrils taken as a drink to remedy acidity or sour stomach in children. Fruit is considered a very drastic purgative. (Purgative used probably associated with black ripened fruits.) (2)
- In Brazil, fruit used as a purgative.
- In Chiapas, Mexico, infusion of plant used for diabetes. (8) Used as tonic for anemia. Boiled fruits used for heart disease. Crushed fresh plant used for snake bites and applied to rashes and hemorrhoids. (7)
- In Yucatan, infusion of entire plant used as remedy for gastritis, calculus, and sores. Crushed fresh plant used for snake bites. Fresh crushed stems applied topically to skin rash, hemorrhoids, and as anti-inflammatory. (13)
- In Mexico, used in different regions: (1) in Chiapas, fruit infusion used for its vitamin content for treatment of anemia. Tzetzales eat boiled fruits to relieve heart pains and treat "mal de ojo". Unripe fruits mixed with sugar cane liquor is blessed by the "curandero" before drinking. (2) in Morelos, various localities use the plant for treatment of gonorrhea, hemorrhoids, and skin burns. (3) in San Luis Potosi (Amayo de Zaragoza, Xilitla is used as smoothie to treat sexual impotence caused by "brujeria" witchcraft. (4) In Quintana Roo, it is mixed with rosemary for treatment of headaches and animal bites (dogs and snakes). (5) In Veracruz (communities around Estacion de Biologia Los Tuxtlas), mention is made of use for treatment of gonorrhea, hemorrhoids, and skin rashes. (6) In Yucatan, bud, fruits, and aerial parts are used as anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and treatment of urinary diseases, gastrointestinal pains, hemorrhoids, and skin rashes. Poultice of whole plant applied on snake bites and infusions used for stomach pains, kidney stones, and sores. (19)

Studies
• Hypoglycemic Effect / Fruit and Leaves: Study investigated the hypoglycemic effect of homogenized fruit and ethanolic leaf extract in 75% and 100% concentration of M. pendula in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Two weeks administration of fruit and leaf extract to diabetic mice showed significant hypoglycemic effect (p<0.0001). (9)
• Anti-Viral against Herpes Simplex 1: Herpes simplex 1 is one of the most prevalent pathogens worldwide. Study using qPCR method assessed the antiherpetic activity of 72 plants extracts and identified 18 methanolic extracts, which included  Melothria pendula, with anti-viral activity of ≥ 75%. The effective antiviral concentrations (EC50) were between 203 and 6.31 µg/mL, with selectivity indexes (SI) between 55.91 and 2.57. (12)
• Silver Nanoparticles / Antibacterial / Leaves: Study reports on the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extract of M. pendula. Secondary metabolites in the extract were alkaloids, saponins, and terpenoids. The AgNPs was found effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. There was not significant difference between chloramphenical and the NPs.  (14)
• Molluscicide Against Pomacea canaliculata / Leaves: Study evaluated the molluscicidal efficacy of M. pendula ethanol leaf extract against the Golden Apple snail, Pomace canaliculata. Active snails were immersed in solutions of 5 ml/L, 10 ml/L, and 15 mL/L of leaf extract for 24 and 48h. The 15mL/L treatment showed highest mortality, 90% and 97% at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Control group, bayluscide, attained 100% mortality in both 24 and 48h. LC50 and LC90 values at 48h exposure were 2,26 and 10.04 mL/L. Results showed M. pendula extract is a novel, environment-friendly molluscicide for control of Pomacea canaliculata. (17)
• α-Glucosidase Inhibitory / Leaves: Study evaluated the alpha-glucosidase inhibitory effect of ethanol extracts of 11 plants from the cucurbitaceae family. Results showed wild cucumber (Melothria pendula) has highest inhibitory activity with IC50 of 10.28 mg/mL. (18)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Creeping Cucumber: Melothria Pendula / Green Deane / Eat The Weeds
(2)
Melothria pendula / Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana) / Wilderness Explorers
(3)
Amazonian Brazilian medicinal plants described by C.F.P. von Martius in the 19th century / Ulrike B. Breitbach, Michael Niehues, Norberto P. Lopes, Jair E.Q. Fariab, Maria G.L. Brandão / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 147, Issue 1, 2 May 2013, Pp 180–189 / doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.02.030
(4)
Sorting Melothria names / Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE / Copyright © 1995 - 2020 / A Work in Progress. School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne. Australia
(5)
Melothria pendula / KEW: Plants of the World Online Plant List
(6)
Phytochemical Screening and Determination of Antacid Property of Ethanolic Extract of Melothria pendula L. (pipinong gubat) on Sprague-Dawley rats / Jessica Chua
(7)
Melothria pendula-Melonette / Adam Arseniuk / Herbs from Distant Lands
(8)
Mexican plants with hypoglycaemic effect used in the treatment of diabetes / Adolfo Andrade-Cetto, Michael Heinrich / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 99 (2005) 325–348
(9)
HYPOGLYCEMIC ACTIVITY OF Melothria pendula L. (CREEPING CUCUMBER) FRUIT AND LEAF EXTRACT IN ALLOXAN - INDUCED DIABETIC Mus musculus domesticus (ALBINO MICE) / Ma. Regina V. Acupanda / Thesis: May 2016 / De La Salle University-Dasmariñas: Biological Sciences Department
(10)
Phytochemical Analysis of Three Common Medicinal Plants (Gliricidia sepium, Melothria pendula, and Pithecellobium dulce) in the Philippines / Renjith Raju, Toms Prakash, Ramachandran Rahul, Jinky Marie T chua, Julius T Capili et al / Scholars Academic Journal of Biosciences, 2021; 9(3): pp 84-88 / pISSN: 2347-9515 / eISSN: 2321-6883 / DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2021.v09i03.004
(11)
Creeping cucumber: Melothria pendula / Green Deane / EatTheWeeds
(12)
Screening of medicinal plants from El Salvador for anti-viral activity against Herpes simplex 1 / Jose Franco-Espinola, Marvin J Nunez, Y Mabel Sanabria-Ramirez et al / Natural Product Research, 2022 /
DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2022.2131783
(13)
Ethnobotany of the Wild Mexican Cucurbitaceae / Rafael Lira. Javoer Caballero / Economic Botany, 2002; 56(4): pp 380-398
(14)
Physicochemical Properties and Antibacterial Activity of Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles from Melothria pendula Linn. (Pipinong-Gubat) Leaf Extract / Nathaniel A Dianito, Flyndon Mark S Dagalea, Manuela Cecille G Vicencio, Karina Milagros C Lim / Asian Journal of Chemical Sciences, 12(1): pp 1-11 / DOI: 10.9734/ajocs/2022/v12i119134 / ISSN: 2456-7795
(15)
Melothria / Wikipedia
(16)
Cucurbitaceae: Melothria pendula / Co's Digital Flora Database
(17)
The efficacy of Melothria pendula leaf extract as Novel Molluscicide against Pomacea canaliculata / Julie Marie P Viña, Nova Mien O Tuayo, Algeline S Herrera /  International Journal of Science, Technology, Engineering, 2024 / DOI: 10.53378/ijstem.353084
(18)
In vitro alpha-glucosidasse inhibitory effects of vartious plants from cucurbitaceae family / Jasmine Shayne A Gabat, Christianne Sophiamarie S Perez, Jeanne Kyla A Ricalde / Thesis: 2018 / GreenPrints
(19)
Melothria pendula L. Melothria pringlei (S.Watson) Mart.Crov. Melothria trilobata Cogn. Cucurbitaceae / Paulina Guerrero-Torres, Luis Hernandez-Sandoval, Alejandro Casas / Book: Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Mexico, 2022 / DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-77089-5_42-1

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