Bottle gourd is an important nutrient rich vegetable, used for various medicinal purposes. It is loaded with fibre, moisture, micronutrients and phytonutrients that offer numerous health benefits.

Biological activity

Antioxidant activity

• It is packed with antioxidants that help in protecting the body from oxidative damages
• Antioxidants are the components that help to fight against free radicals thus consumption of food rich in antioxidant is thought to be very beneficial for protecting the body from the detrimental effects of free radicals
• Being an antioxidant rich food bottle gourd should be consumed daily in order to reduce oxidative stress
• It is also associated with reducing the risk of developing various diseases
• It helps to protect the body from the harmful effects of lipid peroxidation as well
• It is also related with boosting up cellular functions by preventing cellular damages as a result helps in promoting overall well being 
• It helps to reduce the prevalence of cancers as well

Anti-inflammatory activity

• It is packed with various micronutrients and phytonutrients that exert anti-inflammatory activity and play significant role in preventing inflammation, swelling and pain
• We all know that inflammation is a normal response of body but long term inflammation is not so healthy because long term inflammation may cause severe harm to health

• Consumption of bottle gourd is very much helpful for preventing long term inflammation as it has seen that bottle gourd has the ability to decrease the level of inflammatory markers in body as a result helps in delaying the onset of inflammatory events hence protects the body from long term inflammatory damages
• It helps to prevent joint swelling as well, thus individual suffer from arthritis should consume bottle gourd. It not only helps in improving the joint health by preventing swelling but also helps in reducing arthritic pain  

Health benefits and disease preventive role of Bottle Gourd

Role on hydration

• Bottle gourd contains adequate amount of moisture thus its consumption is thought to be very effective for keeping the body hydrated
• It is also associated with exerting a cooling effect to the body
• Consumption of bottle gourd especially during summer is very beneficial. It helps to keep the stomach cool thus helps in maintaining a healthy digestive system during a hot weather, whereas it helps to release heat as well. On the other hand being high moisture food its consumption also helps in restoring the water that has lost during heavy sweating
• Consumption of bottle gourd or bottle gourd juice is considered as an important remedial action for any kind of heat related ailments such as ulcers, nose bleeding, pimples etc

Role on treating urinary tract infection

• It has been traditionally used as an imperative preventive measure for urinary tract infections
• It is better to consume freshly squeezed bottle gourd juice with lime juice for improving the symptoms of urinary tract infection
• It is also associated with providing relief from the burning sensation during passing of urine

Role on digestive health

• Individual who want to obtain a healthy digestive system should include bottle gourd in their diet
• It not only helps in improving digestion but also helps to promote the absorption of nutrients
• Water and fibre present in bottle gourd plays vital role in cleaning the digestive tract. They both help in promoting regularity as they are accountable for increasing the bulkiness and softness of stool that ultimately facilitates defecation. Consumption of bottle gourd is thus thought to be very much helpful for preventing constipation
• Consumption of bottle gourd juice with a pinch of salt is also very effective for preventing diarrhoea
• Its consumption helps to maintain electrolyte balance too
• Moreover consumption of bottle gourd or its juice is extremely helpful for dealing with any kinds of tummy troubles

Role on nervous system

• It plays vital role in boosting up the overall health and activity of nervous system
• B vitamins present in bottle gourd especially Vitamin B6 plays imperative role in improving the activity of brain
• It also helps in improving cognition as well as memory

Role on mental health

• Consumption of bottle gourd is very much useful for improving the overall mental health status
• It plays vital role in reducing stress level
• It has seen that bottle gourd contains higher amount of choline that helps in stimulating the synthesis of neurotransmitter, which ultimately helps in improving the functionality of brain and subsequently improves the symptoms of stress and anxiety
• It is also associated with preventing depression
• Its consumption is very effective for providing a soothing effect to the body that helps to refresh the mind as well and thus helps in improving mood

Role on weight reduction

• Bottle gourd is considered as an imperative weight reducing aid and it has been traditionally used for weight reducing purpose
• It has seen that consumption of bottle gourd juice in empty stomach is really very helpful for weight reduction
• It increases the metabolic rate of the body in many folds, which ultimately boosts up the calorie expenditure or fat burning as a result helps in facilitating the weight reduction procedure

• Fibre component of bottle gourd also play vital role in making it a super food for weight reduction
• Fibre helps in decreasing the level of cholesterol in body as a result helps in preventing visceral obesity
• Whereas fibre is also associated with providing a feeling of satiety by delaying stomach emptying that helps in hindering appetite and thus helps in weight reduction by preventing over eating
• It does not provide enough calorie on its oxidation as it is a low calorie food. This is considered as another important feature of bottle gourd that makes it a healthy choice for weight reducing diet

Role on preventing sleeping disorders

• Individual suffer from insomnia should try bottle gourd, it will act like magic
• It has the ability to cool down the body whereas it is also associated with exhibiting a calming and soothing effects as a result helps in promoting healthy sleeping

Role on cardio vascular health

• Consumption of bottle gourd especially its juice in empty stomach daily helps to keep cardiovascular disease at bay
• It is related with decreasing the concentration of cholesterol especially LDL, VLDL and triglyceride in body as a result minimises the risk of developing hypercholesterolemia, which further reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases
• Its lipid lowering effect is responsible for decreasing the prevalence of atherosclerosis, coronary artery diseases as well as blockage

• Whereas it is also related with preventing hypertension
• It helps to maintain healthy heart beat as well thus aids in preventing arrhythmias  

Role on skin

• Consumption of bottle gourd is really very helpful for improving skin health
• It helps in nourishing the skin inside out
• It is also associated with improving skin glow
• It helps to make the skin hydrated
• It also helps in improving skin elasticity
• It helps to prevent premature aging as well

Role on hair

• It plays vital role in promoting overall hair growth
• It helps in preventing premature greying of hair as well

It is extremely nutritious and should be included in diet for obtaining a better health.

Goutham, T.M., 2021. Role of Bottle gourd extract in the formulation of Detox drink: A Review on Nutritional status, Health benefits and its Utilization. Food and Agriculture Spectrum Journal, 2(01), pp.34-53.

Katare, C., Saxena, S., Agrawal, S., Joseph, A.Z., Subramani, S.K., Yadav, D., Singh, N., Bisen, P.S. and Prasad, G.B.K.S., 2014. Lipid-lowering and antioxidant functions of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) extract in human dyslipidemia. Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine, 19(2), pp.112-118.

Minocha, S., 2015. An overview on Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd). Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research, 4(3), pp.4-10.

Sharma, S.K., Puri, R., Jain, A., Sharma, M.P., Sharma, A., Bohra, S., Gupta, Y.K., Saraya, A., Dwivedi, S., Gupta, K.C. and Prasad, M., 2012. Assessment of effects on health due to consumption of bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) juice. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 135(1), p.49.

Sukhlecha, A., 2012. Bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria): Healer or killer?. International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases, 2(3), p.276.