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Ash Gourd

Scientific name of Ash Gourd: Benincasa Hispida

Name in Ash Gourd in different languages:-

English- Wax Gourd, Winter Melon, White Gourd, Winter Gourd, Tallow Gourd

Sanscrit: Kushmanda

Hindi: पेठा-Peda , कुष्माण्ड-Kushmand

Tamil: நீர்ப் பூசணிக்காய்

Malayalam: Kumbalam കുമ്പളം

Plant description of Ash Gourd

Ash Gourd - Benincasa hispida is an annual vine, grow up to 20 m length. It can't grow in the shade better in moist soil and it has the ability to tolerate the drought. Leaf and stem are white hairy and young fruits too, flowering starting from July to September, and the fruit ripen from August to December. The flowers are both male and female in the same plant, deep yellow in colour with five petals, matured fruits covered with a powdery white waxy green peripheral and fleshy inside contain lots of seeds, which are white and sharp in both end with size 1 cm. Fruits weighing 2.5 to 4 Kg. approximately.

Leaf Arrangement

Shape-heart shaped Margin-Doubly-serrated Venation-Palmate
Cordate-heartshaped Margin_Doubly-serrated-serrate-with-sub-teeth Venation-palmate

 

Useful plant parts:

Seed, Leaf, fruit

Medicinal uses:

Wax gourd’s juice of the  fruit can reduce overweight, it is used in the treatments of dandruff, blood purification, bronchial diseases, increases memory power, tapeworms.

Chemical content:

Alunsenol and Mutiflorenol.

Medicinal properties:

Anti-microbial, anti-coagulant

How to prepare medicines:

Crushed leaf juice can apply on head to stop bleeding due to wound, piles etc (it is an anti-coagulant).

Cut to piece of ash gourd is kept over eyes to get cooling.

Drink the fruit juice with little salt is capable to reduce over weight.

Eating of fresh fruit is beneficial to cure  intestinal parasites, acidity and ulcers.

Ash gourd is used as an ingredient to prepare the Ayurveda medicines like:-

Himasagara Tailam

KushmandaRasayanam

Dhatryadi Ghrita

Gudapippali

Kooshmanda Rasayana

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