Ridge Gourd can be used for liver diseases
Health benefits of ridge gourd
Ridge gourd is a plant that grows mainly in India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Egypt, and other parts of Africa. It is widely used in the traditional Indian medicinal system to treat various health conditions It grows throughout year and yield a dark green vegetable with white pulp.
Parts of Ridge Gourd plant
Fruits are cylindrical, pale yellowish-brown in color, bitter in taste, tapered toward the base, and are covered with 8–10 prominent ribs. Flowers of ridge gourd are regular and consists of yellow petals with separate male and female types. Leaves are simple in outline with 15–20 cm long triangular to broadly rounded lobes and pale green in color.
Ridge gourd has shown various health benefits in different studies. It is potent hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, CNS depressant, immunomodulatory, and antiulcer activity.
Health benefits
Useful chemical constituents of the plant provide many benefits
The phytochemicals of this plant are
Proteins – anticancer, antifungal and antiviral properties
Flavonoids – anticancer and antioxidant activities
Fatty acids – Anti-inflammatory and liver-protective
Helps reduce blood sugar
The young tender fruits of the non-bitter types are eaten fresh like cucumbers, cooked as a vegetable or used in the soups.
The fruit is full of dietary fibers and helps reduce blood sugar. Ridge gourds are rich in a vast array of essential components like dietary fibers, water content, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, magnesium and vitamin B6.
Detoxifies and protects liver
Ridge gourd extracts have shown to protect liver from injuries by alcohol, drugs like paracetamol and others. It significantly reduces liver enzymes SGPT, SGOT, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum bilirubin, serum cholesterol, triglyceride (TG) in alcoholics.
Used to treat jaundice
Ridge gourd is worth considering for treatment of hepatic diseases in human
In Maharashtra and the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, leaves and fruit powder are used for the treatment of jaundice
Anti-inflammatory effects
The seeds of this plant may also be useful as a natural anti-inflammatory agent.
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