ABOUT US ABOUT AYURVEDA PRODUCTS OUR OUTLETS BUSINESS ENQUIRY FEEDBACK CERTIFICATION CONTACT US FAQ
You do not have flash player installed. Click Here to install latest Flash Player.
Raw Herbs
 
Aromatic Pillows
Herbal Extracts
Ayurvedic Products
Single Herb Capsules
Essential Oils
Raw Herbs
 
 
 
Benincasa hispida back  |  home
Latin Names English Names Sanskrit Names
Benincasa hispida Thunb. cogn. /
B. cerifera.
Ash Gourd, Wax Gourd,
White Gourd, White Pumpkin
Kushmanda
 
Benincasa HispidaHistory
The RAJA NIRGHANTU, an ancient book on therapeutics, gives a long account of its virtues. Old ripe fruits were selected in preparing medicine. The pulp was cut into thin strips and the watery juice that oozed out abundantly, was collected and preservedThe RAJA NIRGHANTU, an ancient book on therapeutics, gives a long account of its virtues. Old ripe fruits were selected in preparing medicine. The pulp was cut into thin strips and the watery juice that oozed out abundantly, was collected and preserved.

Habitat
It grows throughout India up to an altitude of 1,200 ft. It is cultivated for its large sized edible fruit which is used as a vegetable.

Morphology Description (Habit)
It is a large climbing or trailing herb with stout, angular and hispid stems. Leaves are large and long petioled, 5-7 lobed, reniform-rotund, deeply cordate, upper surface sparsely pilose and scabrous, lower rigidly hispid and margin sinuate. The tendrils are slender and short. The flowers are large, monoecious and solitary in leaf axils. Calyx teeth, when young, are often narrow and scarcely serrate. The fruits are fleshy, succulent and densely hairy when young but thickly deposited with white easily removable waxy bloom when mature. The flesh is white, and spongy.

Principal Constituents
The fruits contain 11 to 70mg of calcium/100 gm and 0.3-0.45 % of other minerals. Also 0.38 PPM of iodine and 3.5 PPM of fluorine are present other than the numerous compounds1. b -Sitosterol is identified by TLC method2.

Pharmacology
It has acid neutralizing property and ulcer healing activities1.

Toxicology
No adverse effect is reported from this plant.

Indications
In Ayurvedic literature it is mentioned that the fruit has tonic, nutritive and diuretic properties.

References
  1. AHEAD, Wealth of Asia-CD, CSIR, New Delhi.
  2. Quat. J. Crude Drug Res., 1976, 14, 163.

 
 
designed by: cross section   
La-Medicca : Herbs From India