Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.

Cucurbitaceae

Common Names:
Daravetakolu, Wetakolu (S)
Peerkkangai, Pekankai, Pekunkai (T)
Luffa (E)
Koshathaki, Sukosha (Sa)

Traditional Knowledge

Useful plant parts :
Root, seed and fruit

Uses in traditional medicine :

Ground roots in pure water is used as a laxative
Fruits are edible and rejuvenates the liver
High dosages of seeds are taken to induce vomiting
Roots are purgative

Scientific Research

Chemical constituents:

Peptides: luffangulin and luffculin from seeds; lectin from fruit exudates; oleanane type triterpene saponins: acutosides A–G from plant

Bioactivity :

Alcohol and aqueous extracts of fruit: antitumour, antioxidative, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, beneficial role in mitigating oxidative stress in erythrocytes; peptides: inactivate rhibosomes

Clinical:

Note :

Fruits are used as a vegetable

References :

Anantharam, V. et al., (1986), Isolation, macromolecular properties, and combining site of a chito-oligosaccharide-specific lectin from the exudate of ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), J Biol Chem, 261(31), 14621-7.

Jadhav, V. B. et al., (2010), Hepatoprotective activity of Luffa acutangula against CCl4 and rifampicin induced liver toxicity in rats: a biochemical and histopathological evaluation, Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 48(8), 822-829.

Ma, Q. et al., (2000), Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of luffaculin, a ribosome-inactivating protein from sponge-gourd seeds, Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr, 56(2), 185-6.

Nagao, T. et al., (1991), Studies on the constituents of Luffa acutangula Roxb. I. Structures of acutosides A–G, oleanane-type triterpene saponins isolated from the herb, Chem Pharm Bull, 39(3), 599-606.

Pimple, B. P. et al., (2012), Protective effect of Luffa acutangula extracts on gastric ulceration in NIDDM rats: role of gastric mucosal glycopro- teins and antioxidants, Asian Pac J Trop Med, 5(8), 610-5.

Reddy, B. P. et al., (2009), Antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects of partially purified Luffa acutangula fruit extracts on human lung adenocar- cinoma epithelial cell line (A-549), Current Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy, 3(4), 16-17.

Reddy, B. P. et al., (2011), The protective role of Luffa acutangula fruit methanolic fraction against t- BHP induced oxidative damage in human etythrocytes, Current trends in biotechnology and pharmacy, 5(1), 1073-1082.

Wang, H. and Ng, T. B., (2002), Luffangulin, a novel ribosome inactivat- ing peptide from ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula) seeds, Life Sciences, 70(8), 899-906.

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