Kusmanda

Botanical Name

Benincasa Cerifera Savi

Family

Cucurbitaceae

Sanskrit

Kushmanda

English

Ashgourd

Hindi

Petha

Kannada

Sorekai

Malayalam

Kumpalam

Telugu

Budida.Gummadi

Tamil

Pusinikkai

Marathi

–

Distribution

Cultivated in tropical and subtropical parts of india.

Parts Used

Fruits, Seed, Seed Oil.

Dose

Fruit-10-20gm, Seed Powder-3-6gm

Chemical Constituents

Amino acids, vit-b, vit-c, glucose, mannitol, cucurbitacin, linoleic acid

Ayurvedic Properties

Quality (Guna)

Laghu, Snighda

Taste (Rasa)

Madhura

Metabolism (Vipaka)

Madhura

Potency (Virya)

Sita

Impact (Prabhava)

Hrdhya

Pharmacological Action

  • Kushmanda is one of medhya drug.
  • It is considered as best for stimulation of digestion.
  • It helps in promotion of longevity,digestion.
  • It is considered as yogavahi rasayana

Therapeutic Uses

Asmari,mutrakrichhra,mutraghata,prameha,trsna.

Some of the common formulations

  • Kusmanadavaleha.
  • Kusmandaghrita.
  • Kusmanada rasayana.