Buffalo gourd Cucurbita

Figure 2. Scanning electron micrograph of a mesophyll cell of a dormant cotyledon of Buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima). Tissue was fixed in aqueous glutaraldehyde, dehydrated with ethanol and critically point dried. Note cell wall (W) and intracellular components including protein bodies (P) and emptied spherosomes that appear as a cytoplasmic reticulum.

Buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima). The buffalo gourd is a vine-Uke plant that grows in semiarid regions of the United States, Mexico, Lebanon, and India. The seed contains good quality oil (32-39%) and protein. The oil is very variable in fatty acid composition, thus lending itself to seed breeding. A typical sample contains 16 0 (9%), 18 0 (2%), 18 1 (25%), and 18 2 (62%) (88). 

Khoury, N.N., Dagher, S. and Sawaya, W. (1982) Chemical and physical characteristics, fatty acid composition and toxicity of buffalo gourd oil, Cucurbita foetidissima. J. Food Technol. 17, 19-26. 

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