Tarbooj

Botanical Name

Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai

Family

Cucurbitaceae.

Synonyms

Citrullus vulgaris Schrad., Cucumis vulgaris (Schrad.) E.H.L.Krause, Anguria citrullus  Mill., Citrullus amarus Schrad., Citrullus anguria (Duchesne) H.Hara, Citrullus aquosus Schur, Citrullus citrullus Small, Citrullus edulis Spach, Citrullus mucosospermus (Fursa) Fursa, Citrullus  pasteca Sageret, Colocynthis amarissima Schltdl., Colocynthis citrullus Fritsch, Cucumis citrullus (L.) Ser., Cucumis  dissectus Decne.

Regional Name

English : Water melon, Hindi : Tarbooj, tarbooz, Urdu: Tarbooz, Sanskrit : Chitra, Alpapramanaka, chayaphula, chelana, chitraphala, tarambuja, Kannada : Kaalenga hannu, Kaalengu, kaalingana balli, kallangadi, Marathi : Kalingada, Kadu Vrindavana, Tharbooj, Tamil :  Dharbusini, Telugu : Eriputccha, Darbooji, Etipuchha, Bengali : Tormuj, Gujarati: Indrak. 

Part Used

Seed.

Description

This species is probably native to Malesia. It is cultivated in the subtropical countries and in India. Within India, it is cultivated throughout; often met with as an escape in waste places and fields. The wild watermelon is widely distributed in Africa and Asia, but originates from southern Africa occurring naturally in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. It is an annual that has a prostrate or climbing herb. Stems are up to 10 m long and new growth has yellow or brown hairs. Leaves are 5-20 by 3-19 cm, and hairy, usually deeply palmate with 3-5 lobes, on 2-19 cm long petioles. Male flowers on 12-45 mm long pedicels. Flowers 1-2.5 cm long, pale green.

Phytoconstituents

It is contains bioactive compounds such as cucurbitacin, alkaloids, steroids, saponins, cardioglycoside, flavonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds. The plant also contains carbohydrate, vitamins, amino acids, proteins, minerals and fat. It is also rich in essential amino acids like arginine, glutamine and aspartic. It also contains Vitamin C, Vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, magnesium and lycopene.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Madhura, Kasaya, Guna : Ruksa, Virya : Sita, Vipaka : Katu, Karma : Vatakara, Sangrahi.

Ayurvedic Applications

Prameha, Pravahika, Agnimandya, Grahaniroga.

Medicinal Uses

The seed is used in the treatment of urinary tract infections, bed wetting, dropsy and renal stones, alcohol poisoning, hypertension, diabetic, diarrhoea and gonorrhoea. It is useful in various diseases such as high blood pressure, fluid retention, oedema, acute and chronic renal failure, sciatica, kidney stones, lymphatic swelling, liver disorders and many more diseases.

Formulations
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