Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica), of the Cucurbitaceae family. Dioecious climbing vine with tendrils and small oblong green-striped fruit; native range: the plains of northern and eastern India and Bangladesh, long in cultivation. Globally recognized as patola · kulaka in Sanskrit, parwal · parval in Hindi, parwal in Arabic, and parwal · green potato in English. The part used is fruit and leaf. Firm green fruit striped pale, faintly bitter and cooling, the leaves markedly bitter.
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.
POINTED GOURD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Pointed gourd
- Scientific name
- Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
Form
- Part used
- fruit and leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta)
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
Ayurveda: heating (ushna, mild)
Unani: hot & dry (1st degree)
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses read it gently warming despite its bitterness
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · liver · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (digestive), jvaraghna (antipyretic), raktashodhaka (blood-purifier), krimighna, kushthaghna, and hridya
- Unani
- muharrik-e-badan (tonic), musaffi-e-dam (blood-purifier), mushtahi (appetiser), and mildly deobstruent
Cautions
- Contraindications
- no significant contraindication; the wild very-bitter forms may purge if taken in quantity
- Toxicity
- the cultivated gourd is a wholesome food of very low toxicity
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