Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Spine gourd (Momordica dioica), of the Cucurbitaceae family. Slender dioecious climber with a perennial tuberous root; native range: moist scrub and forest edges across the Indian subcontinent. Globally recognized as karkotaka in Sanskrit, kakrol, kakora in Hindi, and teasle gourd, small bitter gourd in English. The part used is fruit and tuberous root. Small oval fruits clothed in soft green spines; flesh mildly bitter, the tuber starchy and faintly acrid.
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.
SPINE GOURD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- spine gourd
- Scientific name
- Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd.
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
Form
- Part used
- fruit and tuberous root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- jvaraghna (antipyretic), krimighna (anthelmintic), kandughna (relieves itching), mehahara (checks diabetes and urinary disorders)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- caution in pitta-predominant states and in the very lean owing to its heating, drying bitterness
- Toxicity
- the fruit is a wholesome food; no notable toxicity at usual dose
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