KARELA
English : Bitter ridged gourd
urdu : Karela
Telugu : Kakara
Description :
This is a climbing plant having hairy stem, toothed leaves and pale yellow flowers. It is a cultivated every where in india for its fruit which is long and spindle-shaped with a beak at the apex, covered with ridges and raised tubercles, bright coloured and contains compressed seeds.
Action and Uses:
Fruit is tonic,stomachic,appetizer, anti-pyretic,anti-billious,anthelmatic,lexative and anti-diabetic.It is used in goult,rheumatism,diabetes mellitus,jaundice, piles,leprosy,bronchitis and asthma.
Leaves are locally applied as a galactagogue and the juice extracted from leaves is used as a liniment for relief of burning of soles of the feet. The juice is used internally in billious affections as emetic and purgative.
A paste of the root is applied over haemorrhoids.