Disclaimer : This databank is curated from literature and may not claim for any medications or directly use of plants without any prior knowledge or consultation of physician.



Botanical Name Plant's Common Name Plant Family

MC019 : Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.

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Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : 210  
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order : Violales
Family : Cucurbitaceae - Cucumber family
Genus : Luffa Mill. - luffa
Species : Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. - sinkwa towelsponge
Plant Location in Melghat : In Dhargad,Kelpani and Jarida  
Plant Category : Climbers  
Plant's Current Status : UNCOMMON  
Plant Family : Cucurbitaceae  

 
Plant Common Name : Jangli Dodka,Jungle Turai, angled loofah, Chinese okra, dish-cloth gourd, ribbed gourd, ribbed loofah, ridged gourd, silk gourd, silky gourd, sinkwa towelsponge, sinqua melon, vegetable sponge;
 
Synonym : Cucumis acutangulus L.
Cucumis lineatus Bosc
Cucumis longus var. indicus Grew
Cucumis megacarpus G.Don
Cucumis operculatus Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
Cucurbita acutangula (L.) Blume
Luffa acutangula var. amara C.B.Clarke
Luffa acutangula var. forskalii (Schweinf. ex Harms) Heiser & E.E.Schill.
Luffa amara Roxb.
Luffa drastica Mart.
Luffa fluminensis Roem.
Luffa foetida Cav.
Luffa forskalii Schweinf. ex Harms
Luffa gosa Ham.
Momordica tubiflora Wall.


Description : A plant of the lowland tropics, where it can be grown at elevations up to 500 metres; It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 32°c, but can tolerate 15 - 38°c; It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 3,000mm;
 
Curated Medicinal Use / Activity : The seeds are emetic and purgative; They are eaten to expel intestinal worms; The fruits and seeds are used in herbal preparations for the treatment of venereal diseases, particularly gonorrhea; A leaf extract is applied on sores caused by guinea worms to kill the parasite; The leaf sap is applied to skin affections such as eczema, and is used as an eyewash to cure conjunctivitis; The glycoprotein luffaculin, isolated from the seeds, exhibits abortifacient, antitumour, ribosome inactivating and immunomodulatory activities.
 
Plant's Phytochemicals : 1,8 dihydroxy-4-methylanthracene 9,10-dione
p-coumaric acid
Gallic acid
Protocatechuic acid
Ferulic acid

Reference : ~ Kuldip S. Dogra, Sandeep Chauhan and Jeewan S. Jalal; "Assessment of Indian medicinal plants for the treatment of asthma"; Journal of Medicinal Plants Research (2015); 9(32): 851-862 PMID :

~ Dhore MA and Joshi PA; "Flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; Directorate, Project Tiger, Melghat (1988); PMID :