Pointed gourd is one of the most important and nutritious vegetables belong to Cucurbitaceae family. It is also known as green potato and it is extensively used for various medicinal purposes.

Nutritional profile

• It contains lesser amount of carbohydrates
• It is loaded with dietary fibres
• It contains too some extent of proteins as well
• It contains negligible amount of fats
• It provides lesser amount of energy on its oxidation due to its poor carbohydrate and fat contents thus it is considered as low calorie food
• It is packed with several vital micronutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper and potassium
• It is also loaded with flavonoids that exert various nutraceutical activities

Biological activity

Antioxidant activity

• It contains various micronutrients and phytonutrients that are accountable for exhibiting antioxidant activities
• They help to neutralise free radicals thus help in protecting the body from their harmful consequences
• Its consumption is also related with preventing lipid peroxidation
• It helps to promote cellular activity as well

Anti-inflammatory activity

• It exhibits potent anti-inflammatory activity and plays vital role in preventing inflammation, swelling and pain
• It helps in reducing the concentration of inflammatory markers in body as a result helps in delaying the onset of inflammatory events and protects the body from inflammatory damages

Anti-carcinogenic activity

• It has the ability to fight against cancerous cells thus its consumption is thought to be very effective for reducing the prevalence of carcinoma
• Its oxidative stress reducing capacity is also considered as an important feature responsible for minimising the risk of developing cancers.
• It helps in hindering the growth of malignant cells by inducing apoptosis

Hypotensive activity

• Potassium of pointed gourd makes it a supper food for hypertension because it exerts potent hypotensive activity
• It basically acts as vasodilator, which plays vital role in dilating blood vessels as a result helps in improving blood flow that subsequently decreases elevated blood pressure
• It is thus better to incorporate pointed gourd in diet, especially in the diet of those individual who suffer from hypertension

Health benefits

Role on immunity

• Consumption of pointed gourd is extremely beneficial for obtaining a healthy immune system because it contains various imperative nutrients that are very useful for healthy immune functioning
• Its Vitamin C content plays vital role in stimulating the production of WBC that ultimately helps in making the body able to fight against infections. Whereas WBC is also associated with protecting the body from foreign invaders too, like bacteria, viruses etc

• Apart from Vitamin C it also contains various other nutrients that help in improving immunological responses of the body
• Its antioxidants are also accountable for protecting every immune cell from free radical induced oxidative damages as a result help to improve their functions
• Consumption of pointed gourd is very beneficial for improving the resistance power of the body, which ultimately helps in reducing the susceptibility of becoming ill

Role on digestive health

• It is considered as an imperative remedial action for digestive issues
• It plays vital role in promoting digestion
• Fibre present in pointed gourd helps in improving regularity. It helps in promoting the smooth passage of food through the gastro intestinal tract, which ultimately helps in improving bowel movement
• It is also associated with increasing the bulkiness as well as softness of stool hence prevents constipation by making the defecation easier
• It helps to improve colonic health as well. It also plays important role in reducing the risk of developing diverticular disease
• It helps in promoting overall gut health too and all the credit goes to its fibre content as it helps in promoting the growth of intestinal beneficial microbes

Role on skeletal system

• Pointed gourd contains adequate amount of calcium, phosphorus as well as magnesium, all of which are extremely useful for keeping our bone healthy and strong

• Calcium and phosphorus play vital role in healthy bone formation
• They are also associated with improving bone mineral density
• Magnesium is one of the most important minerals that is involved in bone metabolism 
• Its Vitamin C content is responsible for absorbing calcium in our body as a result it helps the body to utilise calcium properly for bone formation
• It helps to improve the symptoms of osteoporosis as well
• It is better to incorporate pointed gourd in diet in order to reduce the risk of developing bone related disorders

Role on weight management

• It is considered as an important therapeutic substance for weight reduction
• Being a low calorie food it can be easily incorporated in the diet of an obese individual without the fear of gaining weight
• Fibre is one of the most important constituents of pointed gourd that helps in weight reduction. Fibre helps in exerting a feeling of stomach fullness by delaying stomach emptying as a result hinders the appetite and facilitates weight reduction by preventing over eating
• It is also very effective for reducing cholesterol concentration in body, which plays vital role in preventing visceral obesity as well
• Moreover pointed gourd can be consumed daily for supporting weight loss

Role on eye health

• We all know that consumption of Vitamin A is very useful for improving overall eye health and being a good source of Vitamin A, pointed gourd can be consumed for obtaining a healthy eye
• It helps to improve vision as well
• Its antioxidant activity plays vital role in protecting the eye especially the retina from free radical induced oxidative damages as a result helps in promoting its activity
• Consumption of pointed gourd significantly reduces the susceptibility of developing cataract and age related macular degeneration

Role on blood purification

• It is very helpful for purifying the blood
• It has been traditionally used in Ayurveda for regulating Kapha
• It plays imperative role in cleaning our blood
• We all know that blood purification is very much important for our body as it helps to keep the body free from diseases and it also helps in eliminating impurities from blood as a result helps in promoting overall wellbeing. As pointed gourd helps in blood purification thus its consumption is thought to be very beneficial for overall health

Role on skin

• Its consumption is extremely useful for boosting up the overall skin health because it contains various imperative nutrients that are responsible for nourishing the skin inside out

• Flavonoids present in pointed gourd are extremely beneficial for skin
• Its Vitamin C content helps in improving skin elasticity by stimulating collagen synthesis
• Its Vitamin A content plays vital role in improving skin barrier functions
• Antioxidants found in pointed gourd are also accountable for preventing premature aging as they help in protecting skin from oxidative damages
• It helps to prevent wrinkles as well as dark spots

Therapeutic uses

It has been extensively used for various therapeutic purposes, like –

• It is used as an imperative therapeutic substance for cardiac health
• Its consumption significantly decreases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases
• It helps in stabilising blood sugar level as well
• It is also associated with improving the symptoms of flu
• It helps in wound healing as well
• Vitamin C present in pointed gourd plays imperative role in improving the health and activity of connective tissue

Bhattacharya, S., 2021. Cytotoxic, Antitumor, and Chemopreventive Effects of Pointed Gourd (Trichosanthes dioica) Root: Involvement of Antioxidant Role. In Handbook of Oxidative Stress in Cancer: Therapeutic Aspects (pp. 1-18). Singapore: Springer Singapore.

Chakraborty, M., Mandal, B., Saha, S., Hazra, G.C., Padhan, D., Sarkar, D., Batabyal, K., Murmu, S., Chattopadhyay, A. and Bauri, F.K., 2021. Zinc and iron profiling in edible parts of some common vegetable and fruit crops: an exploration of inter-and intra-crop variation. Agricultural Research, pp.1-8.

Kumar, S. and Singh, B.D., 2012. 5 Pointed Gourd: Botany and Horticulture. Horticultural Reviews, 39, p.203.

Rahman, A.H.M.M., Anisuzzaman, M., Ahmed, F., Islam, A.K.M.R. and Naderuzzaman, A.T.M., 2008. Study of nutritive value and medicinal uses of cultivated cucurbits. Journal of applied sciences research, 4(5), pp.555-558.

Sakthivel, R. and Hemamalini, M., 2021. Guard our health with gourds. TNNMC Journal of Community Health Nursing, 9(2), pp.42-45.