Bottle Gourd

Description

Common Name: Bottle Gourd
Scientific Name: Lagenaria siceraria
Family Name: Cucurbitaceae

Edible Uses :

• Immature fruit – cooked and used as a vegetable. They can be boiled, steamed, fried, used in curries or made into fritters.
• The pulp around the seed is purgative and should not be eaten.
• The fruit can be dried for later use.
• Leaves and young shoots – cooked and used as a potherb.
• Seed – cooked. Rich in oil, it is added to soups.
• A vegetable curd, similar to tofu, can be made from the seed.
• An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is used for cooking.

Medicinal Uses :

• The pulp around the seed is emetic and purgative.
• A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied to the head to treat headaches.
• The flowers are an antidote to poison.
• The stem bark and the rind of the fruit are diuretic.
• The fruit is antilithic, diuretic, emetic and refrigerant.
• The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of stomach acidity, indigestion and ulcers.
• The seed is vermifuge. A poultice of the boiled seeds has been used in the treatment of boils.
• Taken with Achyranthes spp the seed is used to treat aching teeth and gums, boils etc.
• Extracts of the plant have shown antibiotic activity.

Reference : http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/l/lagenaria-siceraria=bottle-gourd