MEDICINAL SIGNIFICANCE OF LAGENARIA SICERARIA; A SUMMARIZING ASSESSMENT

The Cucurbitaceae family has been utilized as a medicinal option in human medicine from ancient times. The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is popularly known as lauki, ghia or dudhi in India. This is grown worldwide in the tropical climates of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. There are over 800 species and 130 genera in this family. Because of their potential for therapeutic use, researchers have looked into a variety of plants in this family, including Lagenaria siceraria. L. siceraria has been linked to several health benefits for humans, including antioxidant, immunosuppressive, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, diuretic, laxative, analgesic, antihypertensive, cardioprotective, central nervous system stimulant, anthelmintic, and free radical scavenging. This plant’s fruit is frequently consumed as a low-calorie vegetable. The biological chemicals found in the species are diverse and include terpenoids, flavonoids, sterols, and saponins. The edible portions of this plant also contain proteins, terpenoids, flavonoids, vitamins, choline, and other phytochemicals. In addition to 17 distinct amino acids, the seeds of L. siceraria have been discovered to contain several minerals. Per 100 g of L. siceraria, there are 14 kcal of energy, 3.39 g of carbs, 0.62 g of protein, 0.2 g of fat, and 0.5g of fiber, according to the USDA nutritional database. There are numerous pharmacological and physiological activities carried out by L. siceraria demonstrates the extraordinary potential to treat a variety of human and animal disorders. This comprehensive analysis’s main goal is to provide an overview of the information regarding the advantages and disadvantages of consuming L. siceraria for human and veterinary health.