PHARMACOGNOSTICAL EVALUATION OF FRUIT OF Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standely

Abstract

Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley (Family: Cucurbitaceae) is an annual herbaceous climbing plant with a long history of traditional medicinal uses in many countries, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. The fruit of the plant has been used in different system of traditional medication for the treatment of diseases and ailments of human beings. However systematic information on the fruit of this species is not available. The present study was carried out to provide requisite pharmacognostical detail of the fruit of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley. The pharmacognostical evaluation was done under three phases i.e. the macroscopical and microscopical evaluation of the fresh drug and powder, and the histochemical evaluation. The observation from the macroscopic evaluation of the fruit was compared with that of the available descriptions in the authentic books. Powder microscopical characters identified include vessel fragments, starch grains, oil globules, parenchyma cells, fruit epidermal cells, calcium oxalate crystals, tracheids and elongated fibre fragments. This study resulted in providing an updated pharmacognostical profile for the fruit of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley.

Keywords: Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley, Pharmacognostical evaluation, Macroscopic evaluation