Background
- Coccinia indica, also known as ivy gourd, is a tropical plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is an aggressive climbing vine that can spread quickly over trees, shrubs, and fences. The flower is large and white and contains five long, tubular petals. Ivy gourd grows well in India and Thailand, as well as in tropical areas such as Hawaii.
- The roots, fruit, and leaves of Coccinia indica have been used for many medical conditions, including inflammation, asthma, cardiovascular disease (heart disease), and high cholesterol. Coccinia indica has mainly been studied as an antidiabetic agent. It has been shown to decrease blood sugar levels in humans and in animals.
- There is a lack of high-quality studies of Coccinia indica for any other purpose besides managing diabetes.
References
- Azad Khan, A. K., AKhtar, S., and Mahtab, H. Coccinia indica in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 1979;5(2):60-66. View Abstract
- Chandrasekar, B., Mukherjee, B., and Mukherjee, S. K. Blood sugar lowering potentiality of selected Cucurbitaceae plants of Indian origin. Indian J Med Res 1989;90:300-305. View Abstract
- GUPTA, S. S. and VARIYAR, M. C. Experimental studies on pituitary diabetes. IV. Effect of Gymnema sylvestre and Coccinia indica against the hyperglycaemic response of somatotropin and corticotropin hormones. Indian J Med Res 1964;52:200-207. View Abstract
- Hossain, M. Z., Shibib, B. A., and Rahman, R. Hypoglycemic effects of Coccinia indica: inhibition of key gluconeogenic enzyme, glucose-6-phosphatase. Indian J Exp Biol 1992;30(5):418-420. View Abstract
- Kamble, S. M., Kamlakar, P. L., Vaidya, S., and Bambole, V. D. Influence of Coccinia indica on certain enzymes in glycolytic and lipolytic pathway in human diabetes. Indian J Med Sci 1998;52(4):143-146. View Abstract
- Khan, A. K., AKhtar, S., and Mahtab, H. Treatment of diabetes mellitus with Coccinia indica. Br Med J 4-12-1980;280(6220):1044. View Abstract
- Kumar, G. P., Sudheesh, S., and Vijayalakshmi, N. R. Hypoglycaemic effect of Coccinia indica: mechanism of action. Planta Med 1993;59(4):330-332. View Abstract
- Kuriyan, R., Rajendran, R., Bantwal, G., and Kurpad, A. V. Effect of supplementation of Coccinia cordifolia extract on newly detected diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 2008;31(2):216-220. View Abstract
- Mallick C, Chatterjee K, Mandal U, and Ghosh D. Protective effects of MTEC, a formulated herbal drug on glycemic indices and testicular dysfunctions in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. J Herbs Spices Med Plant 2007;13(4):69-91.
- Mallick, C., Mandal, S., Barik, B., Bhattacharya, A., and Ghosh, D. Protection of testicular dysfunctions by MTEC, a formulated herbal drug, in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat. Biol Pharm Bull 2007;30(1):84-90. View Abstract
- Pari, L. and Venkateswaran, S. Protective effect of Coccinia indica on changes in the fatty acid composition in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Pharmazie 2003;58(6):409-412. View Abstract
- Shibib, B. A., Khan, L. A., and Rahman, R. Hypoglycaemic activity of Coccinia indica and Momordica charantia in diabetic rats: depression of the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and elevation of both liver and red-cell shunt enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Biochem J 5-15-1993;292 ( Pt 1):267-270. View Abstract
- Singh, N., Singh, S. P., Vrat, S., Misra, N., Dixit, K. S., and Kohli, R. P. A study on the anti-diabetic activity of Coccinia indica in dogs. Indian J Med Sci 1985;39(2):27-9, 42. View Abstract
- Venkateswaran, S. and Pari, L. Effect of Coccinia indica on blood glucose, insulin and key hepatic enzymes in experimental diabetes. Pharm Biol 2002;40(3):165-170.
- Wasantwisut, E. and Viriyapanich, T. Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis Voigt, Coccinia cordifolia, (Coccinia indica) in human nutrition and traditional applications. World Rev Nutr Diet 2003;91:60-66. View Abstract