Cucumber
Scientific name: Cucumis sativus
Common names: Cukes, hu-kua
Ayurvedic names: Trapusha, Sukasa
Chinese names: huang gua, qing gua
Bangladesh names: Sasha
Arabic names: خيار (khiyaar)
Rain Forest names:
Family: Curcurbitaceae
Approximate number of species known:
Common parts used: Whole fruit, seeds
Collection: seeds are taken from cucumbers
Annual/Perennial: Annual
Height: 60 cm long, 10 cm in diameter
Actions: Demulcent, vulnerary, diuretic Seeds: anthelmintic
Known Constituents: 96 per cent water in its composition.
Constituents Explained:
Description:
Traditional Use:
A very cooling fruit high in sodium, hence the saying ‘cool as a cucumber.’ Soothing to the skin.
Clinical Studies:
389 patients with essential hypertension were divided into two groups randomly. 241 patients were treated by tablet of cucumber vine compound and 148 patients by tablet of hypotension compound as control.
The symptomatic marked improvement and total effective rate were 63.1% and 81.7% in the treated group and 39.2% and 67.0% in the control group respectively. The marked effective rate in decrease of blood pressure and total effective rate were 52.7%, 90.9% and 58.1%, 92.6% respectively.
Clinical observation and toxicological test proved that tablet cucumber vine compound had no toxicity and had few side effects and that it was an effective, safe medicine for essential hypertension.
The aqueous fruit extract of Cucumis sativus L. was screened for free radical scavenging and analgesic activities. The extract was subjected to in vitro antioxidant studies at 250 and 500 μg/ml and analgesic study at the doses 250 and 500 mg/kg, respectively.
The free radical scavenging was compared with ascorbic acid, BHA (Butylated hydroxyl anisole), whereas, the analgesic effect was compared with Diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg). The C. sativus fruit extract showed maximum antioxidant and analgesic effect at 500 μg/ml and 500 mg/kg, respectively.
The presence of flavonoids and tannins in the extract as evidenced by preliminary phytochemical screening suggests that these compounds might be responsible for free radical scavenging and analgesic effects.
References:
Lu GL, Yuan WX, Fan YJ. “Clinical And Experimental Study Of Tablet Cucumber Vine Compound In Treating Essential Hypertension.” 1991 May http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1879030
Kumar D, Kumar S, Singh J, Narender, Rashmi, Vashistha B, Signh N. “Free Radical Scavenging And Analgesic Activities Of Cucumis Sativus L. Fruit Extract.” 2010 October http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21264095