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

MC020 : Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd.

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Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : 211  
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order : Violales
Family : Cucurbitaceae - Cucumber family
Genus : Momordica L. - momordica
Species : Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. - balsampear
Plant Location in Melghat : On borders of fields  
Plant Category : Climbers  
Plant's Current Status : -  
Plant Family : Cucurbitaceae  

 
Plant Common Name : Kartula, bristly balsam-pear, prickly carolaho, spine gourd, teasle gourd, ban karela, kartoli,
 
Synonym : Momordica hispida Dennst. Ex Miq.
Momordica renigera Cogn.
Momordica roxburghii G. Don
Momordica sicyoides Ser.
Momordica triloba Wight
Momordica tuberosa Dennst. Ex Miq.
Momordica wallichii Roem.


Description : Perennial climbers with unbranched, glabrous tendrils, dioecious. Root tuberous. Leaves broadly ovate, membranous, c. 6.0 x 5.0 cm, glabrous on both sides, deeply 3-5-lobed, lobes trianglular ovate or oblong, acute, with undulate or minutely remotely denticulate margin; petiole 1-3 cm long, puberulous. Male flowers 5-6 cm across, yellow, on 4-6 cm long peduncles; bracts large, sessile, entire, glabrous, often ciliated or villous on both surfaces, cucullate, suborbicular or reniform, partly enclosing the flower. Petals 2-3 x 1.5-2.5 cm, obtuse. Female flowers yellow, on c. 2.5 cm long, ebracteate or minutely bracteate peduncles; calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, 5-6 mm long, villous; corolla similar to male flowers. Ovary ovoid, covered with long and soft papillae. Fruit ovoid or ellipsoid, 3-5 cm long, 2-3.5 cm across, yellow when mature, densely covered with soft spines, shortly beaked (rostrate) at apex. Seeds somewhat compressed, 6-7 x 5-6 mm, irregularly corrugated.
 
Curated Medicinal Use / Activity : Applied in bleeding piles and urinary complaints. The root paste is applied over the body as a sedative in fever.
 
Plant's Phytochemicals : Ascorbic acid
Beta-carotene
Thiamine
Riboflavin
Niacin
Momodicaursenol
Lectins
Beta-sitosterol
saponins
glycosides
triterpenes of ursolic acid
aspiranosterol
stearic acid
gypsogenin
momordicin
momordicafoetida
Momordicaursenol

Reference : ~ Santosh Kumar Singh, Jay Ram Patel, Prashant Kumar Dubey and Sonia Thakur; "A review on anti-asthmatic activity of traditional medicinal plants"; IJPSR (2014); 5(10): 4109-4116 PMID :

~ Omolola Temitope Fatokun, Tosin Ejiro Wojuola, Kevwe Benefit Esievo and Oluyemisi Folashade Kunle; "Medicinal plants used in the management of Asthma: A review"; EJPMR (2016); 3(7): 82-92 PMID :

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