Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.

Citrullus colocynthis
(Image taken by Wikimedia commons)

Citrullus colocynthis L. is a viny plant, widely distributed in the desert areas of the world. It is widely used in traditional medicine.

Synonyms: 

• Colocynth
• Bitter cucumber
• Bitter apple
• Indrayan (Hindi)
• Indravaruni (Sanskrit)
• Colocynthis
• Vine of sodom

Family: Cucurbitacea

Plant morphology:

       Citrullus colocynthis is a perennial herbaceous vine. It have vine like stems and leaves are very similar to watermelon. Leaves are palmate and angular with three to seven divided lobes. Flowers are yellow in colour and are solitary in the axes of the leaves. The fruit is a globular berry having 4 to 10 cm in diameter. and the fruit mesocarp is filled with a soft, dry and spongy white pulp. Fruit is odourless and its taste is very bitter. The seeds are also edible but similarly bitter and rich in fat and protein.

Chemical constituents:

       Citrullus colocynthis resembles a common watermelon vine. It contains citrullol, colocynthin, albuminoids, glycosides etc. The glycosides on hydrolysis form cucurbitacin E (α-elaterin), and cucurbitacin L. The oil content of the seeds contain linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid etc.

Uses:

• Colocynth is very powerful cathartic.
• It is reported to possess a wide range of traditional medicinal uses including in common cold, cough, diabetes, asthma, bronchitis etc.
• It shows mild stomachic, diuretic and antilithic activity
• The seed oil can be used for soap production.
• Cucurbitacin E is reported to have anticancer activity.

For further reading:

• Borhade Pravin et al., 2013, "Review on Citrullus colocynthis", IJRPC, 3(1)