Gourd melon

Research concerning the structure, composition, and usefulness of cucurbit seeds (gourds, melons, squash, etc.) is reviewed. Cytological features are typical of those for oilseeds. Composition-ally, decorticated seeds contain by weight 50% oil and 35% protein. The oil is unsaturated and edible however, certain species contain conju-ated trienoic fatty acids (drying oils). 

Benincase cerifera Savi. B. hispida Cogn. Don Gua (Gourd melon) (fruit, seed) Palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid.50 Diuretic, laxative, treat diabetes, dropsy, rhinitis. 

Susceptible plants Squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, and gourds. 

Pumpkin, Curcubita sp., is a member of the gourd family, Curcubitaceae, that also includes melons, cucumbers, squash, and gac. In 2003, the United States production of pumpkins was approximately 335,000 MT (http //usda.mannlib.comell.edu/ reports/nassr/fruit/pvg-bban/vgan0104.txt). In some mid-eastem African countries, dried pumpkin seeds have been used to treat tapeworm when eaten on an empty stomach (53). Also, for many years in Europe, pumpkin seeds have been used as a remedy for micturition. Pumpkin seed oil has also shown possible beneficial affects in retarding the progression of hypertension (54), potential anti-inflammatory activity in arthritis (55), and may be effective in reducing the risk of bladder-stone disease (56). 

The genera in the family of Cucurbitaceae (Table 1) include cucumbers, gourds, and melons. 

Damage Larvae bore into vines of squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, and gourds. They chew the inner tissue near the base, causing vines to wilt suddenly girdled vines rot and die. 

TPC of gourds ranged from 9 to 124 for cantaloupe, 6-72 for honeydew melon, and 6-59 for watermelon. 

P-Pyrazol-l-yl-L-alanine (2-61), derived from pyrazole, occurs in some plants of the Cucurhitaceae family. It was first isolated from the seeds of watermelon Citrullus lanatus), where it represents approximately 0.1% of dry matter. It also occurs in the seeds of many other melons, squashes and gourds, together with other heterocyclic amino acids such as 3-aminopyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid (2-52). 

Vegetables of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae), which includes squashes, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers and gourds of the genera Benincasa, Citrullus, Cucumic, Cucurbita, Lagemria and Lujfa, occasionally show bitter taste in response to various... 

A special group of cucurbitacins are found in bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd or bitter squash Momordica charantia, Cucurbitaceae), which belongs to the most bitter of the edible fruits. The bitter taste of bitter melon is caused by a number of cucurbitane-type triterpenic glycosides called momordicosides, such as momordicosides K and L (8-239). Bitter melon originated in India and is now widely cultivated in Asia and Africa. The plant also contains other biologically active compounds for which it is used to treat a number of diseases, such as toothache, diarrhea, furuncle and diabetes. 

The soil should be deeply cultivated, well drained, neutral to mildly alkaline, and rich in both inorganic and organic nutrients. Therefore, many growers may find it necessary to add lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and compost or manure. However, compost should not be made from the residues of plants belonging to the gourd or melon family, because diseases may be spread among the different species of this family. 

Sometimes the term gourd is used to refer to the entire gourd family. The gourd family or cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae) includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumpkins. Their fruits are usually large, fleshy, and have a thick rind. The plants are vines with broad leaves and trumpet shaped flowers. 

The term melon is applied to the fruit of several closely related plants of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae)—a family whose members include cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, watermelons, and gourds. 

The fruits of these plants provide both edible flesh and edible seeds. Also, the flowers are edible. Squashes belong to the gourd or melon family (Cucurbitaceae), which also includes pumpkins and cucumbers. Most summer squashes are classified as C. pepo and bear relatively small fruits that are eaten while immature. Winter squashes are C. maxima and C. moschata. Winter squashes are eaten when mature and tend to be more nutrituous than summer squashes. 

Chaycte is a member of the gourd aid melon (anly, CucuriUaxse. 

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