Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis), of the Cucurbitaceae family. Fast-growing perennial climbing vine with tendrils, from a tuberous root; native range: Tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent; naturalised across South and Southeast Asia, now a pantropical weed. Globally recognized as bimbi / tundika / raktaphala in Sanskrit, kundru / kanduri in Hindi, kanduri in Arabic, and scarlet gourd, tindora, kovai, little gourd, kundru in English. The part used is whole plant — leaf, tender fruit, root and stem. Glossy heart-shaped leaves and small white star-flowers; the smooth cylindrical fruit ripens from green-striped to brilliant scarlet, mildly bitter and cooling to the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
IVY GOURD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Ivy gourd
- Scientific name
- Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant — leaf, tender fruit, root and stem
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta virya)
- Unani
- cold (baridah, in the first–second degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- kidneys · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kaphapitta-hara, pramehaghna (antidiabetic), kandughna and kushthaghna (relieves itch and skin disease), deepana (kindles digestion), and a hepatic and blood-cooling alterative
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-kabid (liver tonic), mudirr (diuretic), and a cooling drug directed at ziabetus (diabetes) and hot swellings
Cautions
Contraindications: cold, vata-predominant and hypoglycaemia-prone states; caution alongside blood-sugar-lowering treatment
Toxicity: low; large amounts of the raw plant may unsettle a weak, cold digestion
Interactions
- Ayurveda
- antidiabetic agents: the plant's own hypoglycaemic action is additive to blood-sugar-lowering drugs, risking hypoglycaemia
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