White Petha
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The ash gourd plant is an annual trailing vine. It is scientifically known as Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) and belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It has a unique melon-like fruit that is often eaten for its medicinal and functional properties. Ash gourd plant grows in warm, humid tropical climates and is cultivated in countries of South East Asia, including India, Japan, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan1.
The ash gourd fruit got its name from the colour of its skin, which is ash, and it is also called wax gourd because of the waxy shine on the skin. It is mainly grown during the rainy season, so people also call it the winter melon. In ancient medical systems, the Ayurvedic preparation of ash gourd, known as ‘Kushmanda’ in Sanskrit, was thought to have medicinal properties. The most famous sweet
Nutritional Value of Ash Gourd Juice
The essential nutrients of ash gourd fruit are proteins, flavonoids, carotenes, vitamins, minerals, volatile oils, etc. Ash gourd fruit is majorly composed of 96% water; the remaining nutrients are as follows3:
- Carbohydrate: 3.96 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Fibre: 2.9 g
- Zinc: 0.6 mg
- Calcium: 30 mg
- Iron: 11.8 mg
- Vitamins B1: 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B3: 0.528 mg
- Vitamin B2: 0.145 mg
- Vitamin C: 17.2 mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.046 mg
- Vitamin B5: 0.176 mg
Properties of Ash Gourd Juice
Ash gourd fruit is a common vegetable that might have nutritional and medicinal properties. The bioactive nutrients might show potential benefits in various chronic diseases. The properties of ash gourd juice are5:
- It may be a prebiotic (produce good bacteria in the stomach)
- It might act as an antacid (help acidity)
- It may act as a detoxifier (removes toxins from the body)
- It may have a potential anti-inflammatory action
- It may help reduce fever
- It may have an anxiolytic effect (relieve anxiety)
- It may have an anticonvulsant effect (help seizures)
- It might be helpful in depression
- It may act as an antioxidant
- It might help with blood-glucose-lowering
- It might help with blood lipid lowering
- It may have potential antimicrobial and anti-parasitic activity
- It may act as a bronchodilator (make breathing easier)
Potential Uses of Ash Gourd Juice
Ash gourd is considered a functional food, as all parts of the fruit have demonstrated beneficial properties in certain studies5.However, how helpful these are for humans needs to be seen by larger studies. Here are some of its potential uses:
1. May Help Manage Diabetes
Ash gourd juice is low in calories and carbohydrates with no fat content. It might be a great choice for patients with diabetes due to this nutrient profile. The pulp of the fruit might have anti-diabetic properties contributed by various nutrients. When mixed with honey, the dried powder of the peel of the fruit may help lower blood sugar levels.
A human study6 conducted by Majumdar et al. (2010) observed that ash gourd juice helps reduce blood glucose levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. However, more studies are required to present the benefits of ash gourd juice for diabetes.
2. May Support Weight Loss
The various properties of ash gourd juice might help in weight loss management. As we know, ash gourd juice is low in calories and fats and thus it may be beneficial to people who want to lose weight. The lipid-lowering properties and high content of dietary fibre of ash gourd juice might help decrease serum cholesterol and lipid levels, which may help lower body fat.
A literature7 review by Waidyarathna et al. (2020) suggests that if you use ground peeled raw ash gourd fruits and seeds with an equal amount of water and some salt, it might be helpful to lose weight.Although this information is insufficient and requires more studies.
3. May Help in Managing Ulcers
The health benefits of ash gourd juice might positively affect people suffering from peptic ulcers (related to the digestive tract and stomach). Ash gourd juice is prepared by shredding the fruit and mixing it with water. Drinking ash gourd juice on an empty stomach may be helpful for peptic ulcers. After consuming the juice, it is best to avoid eating for at least three hours. According to the Ayurvedic medicine system8, ash gourd has been referenced as a valuable medicine for peptic ulcers. This information is age-old and insufficient; therefore, large-scale human studies are necessary to confirm these benefits.
4. May Promote Healthy Skin
Ash gourd juice may support skin health. The fruit extract used to prepare face cream might be helpful and effective in delaying the deterioration of skin cells with age. A study9 showed that some compounds of the fruit (pulp, peel, seeds) contribute to its antioxidant activity, which may fight ageing-inducing free radicals. It may also decrease oxidative damage and help manage the effects of skin cell degradation. More studies are required to confirm the beneficial effect of ash gourd juice on skin.
5. Other Potential Uses
- Ash gourd juice may help with food poisoning. It may help in painful urination (dysuria) and relieve pain in the sensitive parts7.
- It might help with symptoms of the common cold, fever, cough, sinusitis, etc2.
- Ash gourd juice might help to relieve constipation, and inflammation of the stomach and overall might strengthen the functioning of the digestive system2.
- Ash gourd juice is an excellent refreshing drink for various brain-related diseases like seizures and insanity (mental illness)7.
- Ash gourd might have antacid activity; it may be useful to maintain the pH of the body and the acid levels in the stomach by managing the acidity built up by certain foods like soft drinks and fried food2.
- Ash gourd fruits may be used as a laxative (helps constipation) and diuretic (increases urine production)2.
- Mixing fruit pulp with sugar might help with iron deficiency.
- The benefits of ash gourd juice might be enhanced when taken with ghee; it might amplify the speech, voice and overall intelligence of a person.
The oil prepared from boiling the powder of seeds with coconut oil may be useful for baldness, dandruff and headache
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