Cucumis trigonus: A Remedy for Liver Problems

Cucumis trigonus (Family: Cucurbitaceae) is commonly known as "Thummittikai" in Tamil, "Bitter gourd" in English, and "Vishala" in Sanskrit. The fruit pulp of Cucumis trigonus is bitter, acrid, thermogenic, anthelmintic, liver tonic, cardiotonic, appetizer, expectorant, and intellect promoting. The roots of the plants are used as purgative and the seeds are cooling and astringent. Chhattisgarh (India) farmers use vegetables as lunch and dinner, which helps them to cure indigestion and along with energy to work longer in the field. The fruit of Cucumis trigonus is reported to be useful in treating conditions such as leprosy, fever, jaundice, diabetes, cough, bronchitis, anemia, constipation, and other abdominal disorders. Cucumis trigonus fruit is shown to possess various activities such as antidiabetic activity, and cardiac activity. The book presents the hepatoprotective activity of Cucumis trigonus in experimental animals. The treated rats during experimentation showed a promising result on the biomarkers.