Alspecs Farm Fluted pumpkin (UGU)
ABOUT Fluted Pumpkin (Ugu)
Telforia Occidentalis is a drought-tolerant, dioecious perennial crop that is indigenous to Southern part of Nigeria and it does belong to the family of Cucurbitaceae. It is widely grown in many nations of West Africa, but is mainly cultivated in Nigeria, for its highly nutritious leaves which is used primarily in soups and herbal medicines. Common names for the plant are fluted gourd, fluted pumpkin and ugu. The fruits are not edible but seeds produced by the gourd are high in protein and fat meaning that they can be included in the dishes to make a well-balanced diet.
Fluted pumpkin
Fluted pumpkin is estimated to be consumed by 30 to 35 million people in Nigeria with a larger percentage of the plant been consumed in the South East of Nigeria. It is noted to have healing properties and it has been used as a form of blood tonic, to be administered to anemic patients.
Description:
T Occidentalis is majorly a dioecious flowering plant, which means that, it produces separate male and female parts on different plants, with very few documented cases of monoecious (both male and female parts in the same plant) flowering. The plant is large ranging in size from 16 to 105 cm in length with an average diameter of 9cm. The seed count in the fluted gourd can be up to 196 and above per gourd, typically 3.4 to 4.9cm in length for both pistillate and staminate varieties. Fluted pumpkin flowers grow in sets of five showing a creamy-white and dark red petal unlike the light green colour of the young fruit and yellow colour when ripe.
Fluted Pumpkin as food
Fluted pumpkin young shoots leaves are one of the main ingredients of some Nigerian soups, Ofe Egusi and sometimes prepared with wild mango seed (Ogbono or Apon).
The large dark-red seed is rich in protein and fat which can be eaten whole, ground into a powdery form to be used for certain kind of soup or made into a fermented porridge as the case may be.The fluted pumpkin is also considered as oilseed due to its high oil content of about 30%. The shoots contain high levels of potassium and iron while the seeds are made up of 27% crude proteins and 53% fat.
Benefits of Fluted Pumpkin
- As a result of haematinic properties of the fluted pumpkin leaves, liquid extracts from the leaves can be used in the treatment of anaemia because of the high levels of protein and iron in the plant.
- The root of the plant possesses anti plasmodial and schizonticidal properties making it capable of treating parasitic malarial infections.
- The plant contains high amounts of phosphorus making it useful for keeping off onset of kidney diseases like kidney stone.
- Fluted pumpkin seed oil contain high amounts of anti-oxidative properties such as oleic acid, vitamin A, alkaloids, tannins and linoleic acid which makes it capable of treating infertility in males by boosting the functionality of the testicles for an increased sperm count.
- Additionally, the seed has been highly recommended for nursing mothers due to its lactating properties.