2. Belongs to family Cucurbitaceae.
Over 900 species in Coccinia genus.
A tropical and perennial crop.
Has both high nutritional and
medicinal values.
Leaves are alternate, heart to
pentagonal shape.
Dioecious in nature
Angiosperm bearing fruits in female
plants.
Coccinia grandis Voigt
5. Red in color when ripe
Ovoid to elliptical
shape
25-60mm long,15-
35mm diameter
Glabrous, hairless stalk
Fruits
Succulent, tuberous
Desperation by
humans, birds, cattle,
pigs etc.
Germinates with
suitable conditions
Stem & Root
6. Part of plant Chemical constituents Medicinal value
Stem and leaf
Heptacosane, cephalandrol, β- sitosterole,
Alkaloids Cephalandrins A&B
Antidiabetic, oxidant, larvicadal, GI
disturbances, Cooling
effect to the eye, Gonorrhea,
hypolipidemic, skin diseases,
urinary tract infection Expectorant,
antispasmodic, asthma, bronchitis,
urinary tract infection.
Root
Resin, Alkaloids, Starch, Fatty Acids,
Carbonic acid,
Triterpenoid, Saponin Coccinoside,
Flavonoid Glycoside, Lupeol,
β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, Taraxerol
Hypoglycemic, antidiabetic, skin diseases,
removes pain in
joint, urinary tract infection
Fruit
β- Amyrin Acetate, Lupeol, Cucurbitacin B,
Taraxerone,
Taraxerol, β-carotene, Lycopene,
Cryptoxanthin, Xyloglucan,
Carotenoids, β-sitosterol, Stigma-7-en-3-
one.
Hypoglycemic, analgesic, antipyretic,
Hepatoprotective,
tuberculosis, eczema. anti-inflammatory.
Chemical constituents and medicinal value
8. Conclusions
Coccinia grandis holds a great nutritional and
economical importance.
Several pharmacological applications make it
further precious and worthy of exploration.
Being dioecious in nature it can act as a model
plant for study of sex linked genetic expressions.
Showing so many morphological variation in sexes
like male, female, hermaphrodite,
gynomonoecious etc it may lead to the revelation
of the evolution of sexes in plants.