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Volume 3, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2666-8629
  • E-ISSN: 2666-8637

Abstract

Background

Cucurbitaceae family plants have been widely used as traditional medicines for the prevention and treatment of many ailments. Linnaeus also known as Colocynth, is a bitter plant commonly found growing in sandy deserts around the world, and it grows naturally in the Western Haryana region. Fruits of this plant have been utilized traditionally for various medicinal purposes, like as an appetite suppressant, hypoglycemic, diuretic, laxative, anthelmintic, and for treating renal stones.

Objective

The objective of this study is to carry out the anti-obesity investigation, pharmacognostical studies, heavy metal and pesticide residue analysis, microbial contamination, and mycotoxins evaluation of the fruits for establishing their quality, safety, efficacy, and purity standards.

Methods

Fresh fruits were collected and taxonomically authenticated. The pharmacognostical characteristics of the intact and powdered fruits were identified and qualitative and quantitative phytochemical evaluation was performed. Physicochemical evaluation, heavy metal and pesticide residue detection, microbial contamination, and mycotoxins analysis were performed as per WHO guidelines 2011. inhibition activities for pancreatic lipase and α-amylase enzymes were carried out as per standard procedures and IC values were recorded.

Results

The pharmacognostical standards macroscopy, microscopy and physicochemical parameters were laid, and the drug was declared free from microbial contamination and mycotoxins. Heavy metal analysis and pesticide residue detection revealed that their presence was below toxic levels. The Powder microscopy, microbial contamination, mycotoxin evaluation, and pesticide residue of the Colocynth fruits are novel findings. The IC values (µg/ml) for pancreatic lipase inhibition for aqueous and ethanolic extracts were found to be 21.27±1.25 and 34.35±1.86, and for α-glucosidase, the values were 271.12±2.64 and 283.21±3.06, and for α-glucosidase, the values were 295.67±2.92 and 306.15±3.44 respectively. Thus, the fruit extracts showed significant anti-obesity potential.

Conclusion

Pharmacognostical and physicochemical studies prove to be useful in reducing commercial adulteration of the crude drug by assuring their purity and identity and this could further help in improving the quality of formulations incorporating it. The results of various standardization parameters could be used for designing the monograph of the crude drug. The fruits were found to be fit for therapeutic consumption and their extracts have shown good pancreatic lipase inhibition. The anti-obesity investigation findings of the fruit extracts can further be explored for evaluating their therapeutic efficacy.

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2023-09-22
2025-01-24

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/content/journals/cff/10.2174/2666862901666230810115238
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Pharmacognostical, Physicochemical Evaluation, and In Vitro Anti-obesity Investigation of Citrullus colocynthis Linn. Fruits from Western Haryana
Curr Func Foods 3, E100823219625 (2025); https://doi.org/10.2174/2666862901666230810115238
/content/journals/cff/10.2174/2666862901666230810115238
/content/journals/cff/10.2174/2666862901666230810115238
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  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keyword(s): anti-obesity; Colocynth; microbial contamination; mycotoxins analysis; pharmacognostical; physicochemical

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