Antioxidant Activity and Nutritional Profiling of Ivy Gourd (Coccinia grandis)

Abstract

Ayurveda is a holistic healing system for humans that stems back to ancient. It was discovered in India approximately 3,000 years ago. Its main goal is to promote good health without any side effects and primarily with the help of herbal medicine. Among these herbs “Ivy gourd” is a clean and green form of medicine with no side effects and cost effective form of therapy to treat diabetes. In India, it is widely grown in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh. In current research, the Ivy gourd herb, commonly known as Tindora, Tindora, Kundru and Kundriin other languages, has been studied for its antidiabetic properties. The secondary data reports blood glucose lowering property of Ivy gourd due to the presence of bioactive components- triterpenoids and pectin. Triterpenoids has β- cell regeneration property, whereas pectin leads to less absorption of glucose in the small intestine. Various parts of Ivy gourd herb, viz. fruit, leaf, stem and root were analysed for various biochemical components present and a comparison was also done. The analysis showed the presence of good amounts of triterpenoids and pectin in fruit, which can further be used for lowering blood glucose levels among type 2 diabetics.