Diabetes 25 Herbal Remedies - 4

Herbal - 04 Coccinia Cordifolia (Ivy Gourd)

Ivy’s gourd is a tropical vine (woody climbing plant that bears grapes like fruits), nativity extents from Africa to Asia. Green vegetable Ivy’s gourd is used for cooking as  vegetable,      well-ripped fruits are sweet to eat and can be taken raw.

Coccinia Cordifolia is also called as baby watermelon, little gourd, Calabacita, Calabaza Hiedra, Coccinia grandis, Coccinia indica, Coccinia Índica, Kovai, Little Gourd, Tela Kucha, Tindola.

The regional names are,

• Bengali: toruli / kundri
• Gujarati: (ગીલોડા giloda
• Hindi: tindora/tindori/tindoori
• Punjabi: kundru
• Marathi: तोंडली tondli
• Oriya: toroda/kunduri
• Konkani: thendli, tendli
• Malayalam: (കോവയ്ക്ക) kovai, kovakkai
• Tamil:(கோவக்காய்) kovakkai
• Kannada: (ತೊಂಡೆಕಾಯಿ) tondekayi (aka tonde-kayi or tonde vegetable)
• Sanskrit: bimbi

 

Medicinal Uses :

Various parts of the Ivy Gourd plant have been used as traditional medicine in India from time immemorial. The medicinal utilities have been described, especially for leaf, fruit, root and stem. Several medicinal applications of various parts of Ivy Gourd are summarized in Medicinal uses of different parts of Ivy Gourd.

1 Leaves

· Skin diseases (ring worm, psoriasis itch, sores, pityriasis), skin eruptions of small

   pox, small lesions of scabies.

· Chronic sinuses.

· Causes cooling effect to eyes.

· Gastro-intestinal disturbance and diseases.

· Alleviate body heat by inducing perspiration in fever.

· Tincture is used internally in gonorrhea.

· Cure diabetes and intermittent glycosuria.

· Expectorant.

· Gastro-intestinal disturbance and diseases.

· Urinary tract infection and Respiratory tract related trouble.

2 Stem

· Antispasmodic effect.

· Expectorant.

· Useful in Asthma and bronchitis.

· Cure diabetes and intermittent glycosuria.

· Gastro-intestinal disturbance and diseases.

· Skin diseases.

· Urinary tract infection and related troubles.

3 Fruit

· Cures sores on tongue.

· Raw fruit used as vegetable.

· Cure eczema.

4 Root

· Remove pain in joints.

· Apthous ulcers.

· Wheezing and phlegm.

· Cure diabetes and intermittent glycosuria.

         · Skin diseases, skin lesions (Tenia).

General Home Remedies

1. The leaf paste is applied over the body inorder to induce perspiration for fever condition.
2. The leaves are soaked in coconut oil and placed in the sun for three days. This oil is applied over fungal infections scabies and other skin manifestations.
3. The leaves along with butter is ground and applied over scabies.
4. Tender fruits are taken raw, maunched well and expelled out for aphthous ulcers.
5. Fruits are taken raw or as a part of food in fever conditions.
6. The juice of the root is given in the dose of five to fifteen ml two times a day for diabetes. It can also be administered as a adjuvant for medicines of diabetes.

Side effects of Ivy gourd

It is safe for most of the people, when taken by oral for short and long terms. 

Pregnancy and breast-feeding women are advice avoid its use. 

Ivy gourd can decrease blood sugar levels, so interacts with diabetes medication and leads to hypoglycemia. Thus, you need to monitor your blood-sugar level closely to avoid hypoglycemia, also need to change your diabetes medication dose.

Will Cont..