Coccinia grandis, Ivy Gourd or Kundru: A Miraculous Vegetable
3. Healing certain diseases
Since times immemorial, the ivy gourd has been utilized like a cure for asthma,
leprosy, bronchitis and jaundice. The plant of the veggie is additionally
utilized for offering relief to the bowel problems. This particular veggie is
additionally verified to be healthy in healing particular blood diseases and is
particularly confirmed to reduce higher fever (by utilizing paste produced from
the leaves of the ivy gourd). Patients struggling with asthma and high
cholesterol level may also be occasionally recommended to take the ivy gourd
within their normal diet.
4. Ivy Gourd as Health Food
It is promoted like a health food in several parts of India due to its
high-content of Vitamins. Each one of these vitamins is essential for the body
of a human, and helps reinforce the defense mechanisms. It is abundant with
Vitamin C, which will help in conditioning the bones. It�s got �-carotene inside
it that is a precursor of Vitamin A in body. Additionally, it consists of
Vitamin B1 and B2.It is usually best to take Ivy Gourd together with meals
throughout fever.
Additional health benefits
It is also notorious because of its capability to manage the sugar metabolism
and therefore make sure an ideal amount of blood sugar levels. Additionally it
is thought to have got anti anaphylactic as well as anti-histaminic qualities.
Several research additionally declare this particular vegetable to be
anti-oxidant to some degree; additionally it is constructive at increasing the
defense mechanisms which often serves the entire body in eliminating against
several illnesses in the much better way. Vitamin C present in this particular
vegetable is additionally functional at developing the general body structure.
Along with the above, in case you eat on this veggie it�s got nurturing effects
on the eyes, heart, liver and kidney. Including this particular veggie in your
routine diet casts no negative effect on the functioning ability of the liver or
even the kidney. Additionally it is utilized to prepare medications which are
effectual to cure anorexia, coughing, diabetic wounds, as well as hepatic
problems. The ivy gourd is additionally well known because of its detoxification
capability because it acts to cleanse our blood too.
Some individuals also feature therapeutic property for skin outbreaks as well as
minor wounds to the leaves of the veggie. Leaves and also the root of this plant
may also be recognized because of their medical uses; the plant finds
considerable use within preparation of herbal supplements. Extracts out of this
plant may also be shown to own hypoglycemic properties. The ivy gourd isn�t just
anti-bacterial but in addition anti-ulcer, and is also pain killers as well.
As being a traditional plant, it may distribute vegetative or even by seed. The
stem is really a herbaceous climber or even perennial slender climber along with
infrequent adventitious roots creating where the stem runs across the ground.
The tendrils usually are lengthy, flexible along with coil-like springy
character that may cover the host to the whole length. The foliage is regarded
as palmately simple along with five lobes whilst the shape differs from the
heart to pentagon form. The dimension of the leaves is around 5 10 cm wide as
well as length. The flower is big and white about 4 cm in diameter and possesses
5 long tubular petals. The ivy gourd fruit belongs to the berry type: oval and
hairless along with thicker as well as sticky skin. The raw fruit is green in
color as well as turns bright red when it�s ripe. The mature fruit is generally
from 25 to 60 mm long by 15-35 mm across and possesses numerous pale, squashed
seeds.
Ivy gourd can be obtained as soon as the rainy season for around Six months in
one year. The majority of people like to develop this particular vegetable in
their own individual kitchen garden. A number of dishes could be prepared with
this particular adaptable veggie just like fries, chutney or even full of
masala. Few also love to include it in Gojju that is generally prepared with all
the soft ivy guard. This particular fresh tender gourd is a simple dish to start
as well as a summer delight!
Ivy gourd is from time to time grown like a garden veggie within the exotic as
well as sub-tropical parts of the entire world and was most likely brought to
the Northern Territory just before European settlement. Modest populations are
spread through the entire northern coastal parts of Queensland, the Northern
Territory and Western Australia. However, an invasion was documented from
riparian vegetation along Wolston Creek within the western suburbs of Brisbane
in February 2011, well away from previously known range of this particular
species around Australia. Since that time it�s been noticed distributing from
gardens in other regions of Brisbane (e.g. at Boondall and Sunnybank).
Nutritional Value of Ivy Gourd
100 gm of the fruit has a number of essential nutrients.
Ascorbic acid 1.4 mg
Ca 40 mg
Carbohydrate 3.1 g
Energy 75 kJ (18kcal)
Fat 0.1 g
Fe 1.4 mg
Fiber 1.6 g
Niacin 0.7 mg
P 30 mg
Protein 1.2 g,
Riboflavin 0.08 mg
Thiamin 0.07 mg
Water 93.5 g
Edible Uses:
Leaves and fruits of the plant are consumed as veggies. There are numerous of
edible purposes of this plant.
In Thailand, it really is consumed in boiled as well as fried form.
Curries and soups are prepared utilizing the green ivy gourds. It is extremely
well-known in India and Africa.
Ripe gourds may also be consumed without cooking in several cultures.
Its leaves are frequently utilized in preparing a type of herbal tea right after
drying it.
The unripe fruits can be created into pickles.
Indian cuisine is rich also it utilizes Ivy Gourds in many dishes where it is
stuffed with spices just before deep frying them.
Indonesian cooking includes cooking these types of fruits in coconut milk.
Medicinal Uses:
The leaves are very effective for treating diabetes as well as keeping the
sugars under control.
It is a superb treatment for a multitude of skin ailment just like leprosy,
psoriasis as well as scabies.
They happen to be utilized for dealing with tongue sores, diarrhea and jaundice.
Flowers are generally beneficial in healing jaundice.
Roots of the plant have already been utilized in Chinese medicine since they
have numerous therapeutic qualities.
A tonic made from the leaves is really a noted Thai medicine for the treatment
of patients.
Their essence have been combined in a variety of therapeutic preparations that
are offered as capsules as well as tinctures.
Some other conditions just like respiratory mucosae as well as bronchial
inflammations may also be cured along with it.
Leaves, fruits as well as stems possess the capacity to support hypertension.
A detailed research is available about Ivy Gourd is "Medical Properties of Ivy
Gourd (Cephalandra Indica): A Review by Goldy Yadav at:
http://www.ijprd.com/204-NOV-10-14.pdf in the International Journal of Pharma.Research & development-Onine(IJPRD).
A new research shows that consuming 50 grams of kundru daily can help keep your
blood sugar under check. A three-month study conducted by doctors at the
Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research, Bangalore, India has found
that the common kundru, which looks like a poorer cousin of the tasty gourd
parwal and has no particular gastronomic appeal, can reduce blood sugar levels
in patients with mild diabetes.
The team found that sugar levels in new diabetics, with fasting blood sugar
counts below 200, can drop by 16% by simply slurping the curried vegetable,
known to botanists as Coccinia indica. It also reduced post-prandial blood
glucose (sugar count after a meal) by 18%. The findings have been reported in
the latest issue of the international journal Diabetes Care.
"We fed 30 early diabetics a daily capsule of one gram of frozen, dried powder
of kundru, that is equivalent to 15 grams of the vegetable, for three months and
found it to greatly reduce blood sugar. It also reduced glycosylated haemoglobin
by 0.4% which is significant," said Dr Ganapathi Bantwal, associate professor of
endocrinology at St John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore. However, doctors
say when cooked and consumed, the dose has to be higher than that of the extract
� typically about 50 grams.
Kundru is a local name of Ivy Gourd. It is under cultivation as vegetable crop
in Chhattisgarh. Kundru Chana dal is a curry prepared by using Kundru fruits
with Chana dal (Chickpea splitted seeds). Among the natives this preparation is
popular for its delicious taste but the traditional healers are aware of its
health benefits. According to them this preparation is specially useful for the
patients having diabetes. It is also useful in biliousness and diseases of
blood. During fever the use of this preparation with meals, helps in reducing
the high temperature. Like other vegetable crops, For the fatty natives of
Chhattisgarh the traditional healers are having many herbs and herbal
formulations useful as medicine. Although the problem of obesity is not
considered serious in rural and forest regions but in urban areas the natives
are becoming health conscious and now they are in search of herbal remedies that
can help in reducing extra fat.
3. Healing certain diseases
100 gm of the fruit has a number of essential nutrients.
The leaves are very effective for treating diabetes as well as keeping the
sugars under control.