Botanical Name

Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.

Family

Cucurbitaceae.

Synonyms

Cucumis bicirrha J.R.Forst. exGuill., Cucumis lagenaria (L.) Dumort., Lagenaria  bicornuta Chakrav., Lagenaria idolatrica (Willd.) Ser. ex Cogn., Lagenaria leucantha (Duchesne) Rusby, Lagenaria vulgaris Ser., Pepo lagenarius Moench.

Regional Name

English : Bottle Gourd, Hindi : Lauki, Ghia, Sanskrit : Alabu, Tumbi, Urdu : Ghiya, Lauki, Bengali : Laus, Loki, Gujrati : Dudi, Tumbadi, Kannada : Isugumbala, Tumbi, Malayalam : Chorakka, Churan, Choraikka, Piccura, Tumburini, Cura, Tumburu, Marathi : Phopla, Punjabi : Tumbi, Dani, Tamil : Shorakkai, Surai, Suraikkai, Telugu : Sorakaya, Anapakaya.

Part Used

Fruit.

Description

It is a large, pubescent, climbing or trailing herb, cultivated throughout the country. Fruit a pepo, 30 - 60 cm long, bottle, mace or club-shaped, hard when ripe; external surface smooth; pale green in colour.

Phytoconstituents

It contains Saponin and Fatty Oil.  It is also contains 0.013% of cucurbitacin B and aglycones. The fruit juice contains beta- glycosidase. The leaves and root of the plant contains cucurbitacin B. The seed contains avenasterol and codisterol. Palmitic acid,  Stearic acid, Iinobic & obic acids are found in seed oil.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Madhura, Guna : Snigdha, Virya : Sita, Vipaka : Madhura, Karma : Hrdya, Kaphahara, Pittahara, Rucikara, Vrsya, Bhedaka.

Ayurvedic Applications

Jvara, Kasa, Svasa, Visa Roga, Sopha, Vrana, Sula.

Medicinal Uses

Lauki is used to treat headaches and Urinary diseases . It is used to treat jaundice, fever, inflammation, intestinal worms, cough, cold, Ulcers, wounds, abdominal colic pain, stomach acidity, indigestion, vomiting, constipation, infections and skin diseases due to blood impurity. It is also used for mouth wash and gargling to treat dental caries, treat aching teeth and gums, boils,  external application to treat skin diseases, localized swelling and wounds, used to insect bites due to poison, along with pain and itching sensation.