Source: Health Benefits Times
Photo Source: Unsplash, Health Benefits Times
Health benefits
Skin health, Lowers stroke, Treats cancer, Prevents colds and flu, Hormonal balance Bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is also called Calabash Gourd, Trumpet Gourd and Long Squash. The immature fruit of these species are consumed as vegetables. It is pear shaped with light green coloration. The immature fruit has white spongy flesh. The Bottle gourd may grow as 1 meter in length. Native to Tropical Africa, it is widely grown for the foods. The bottle gourd requires warm climate and well-drained soil to grow. The two varieties of Bottle gourd are: Pusa Summer Prolific Long and Arka Bahar.
Rounder varieties are called calabash gourds, which can grow in a variety of shapes: huge and rounded, small and bottle shaped, or slim and serpentine. L. siceraria is an important member of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is a warm- season fruit or vegetable and is cultivated throughout Pakistan and India. L. siceraria is an excellent fruit in nature, consisting of all the essential constituents that are necessary for the normal and good health of human beings. There are two varieties of this vegetable, namely sweet variety and bitter variety. Both varieties belong to the Lagenaria genus. Generally, the sweet variety is used for vegetable purposes, while the wild bitter variety is preferably used in medicines.
Nowadays, bottle gourds are grown by direct sowing of seeds or transplanting 15- to 20-day-old seedlings. The plant prefers well-drained, moist, rich soil. It requires plenty of moisture in the growing season and a warm sunny position sheltered from the wind. In rural areas, many houses with thatched roofs are found covered with the gourd vines. Bottle gourds grow very rapidly and their stems can reach a length of 9 m in the summer, so they need a solid support to climb via pole or trellis. The plant produces white flowers. The male flowers have long peduncles and the females have short peduncles with an ovary that is the shape of the fruit. Female flowers have a thick style with three bilobed stigmata.
History Bottle gourds were the plants which were used by humans as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago in the form of musical instruments, containers and fishing floats. Firstly, it was cultivated in Africa, then Asia and finally reached to America.
Plant The Bottle gourd plant is an annual, vigorous, monoecious, climbing herb often cultivated in warm climates. It grows as a vine with alternate, broad, deep green leaves that are 400 mm long and 400 mm broad. The stem is often thick, angular, ribbed, brittle and hairy which is about 5 m long. The plant yields flower during summer which is monoecious, white, obovate; 15 cm across and 10–15 mm long. The pear shaped smooth light green fruit has white and spongy flesh. The fruit is 1 meter long. It contains brownish seeds which are oblong, and 2 cm long. Nutritional Value The serving size of 116 grams contains 16 calories and provides 13% of Vitamin C and 7.36% of zinc. The same amount of Bottle gourd provides 174 mg of Potassium, 13 mg of Magnesium, 15 mg of Phosphorus and 2 mg of Sodium. Bottle gourd possess various amounts of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, lipids and amino acids.
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