Over a year after a doctor from Delhi succumbed to “lauki juice poisoning”, the expert committee constituted by the Health Ministry, to study the possible side effects of bottle gourd, has certified it as unsafe for consumption. The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday asked people to avoid drinking bottle gourd juice if it is bitter. It is consumed in India for controlling diabetes.
A public advisory has been issued, banning the consumption of bottle gourd.
In June 2010, 59-year-old Sushil Kumar Saxena, a deputy secretary in the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, died in Rockland Hospital after consuming a popular remedy prescribed by yoga guru Baba Ramdev — a glass of lauki and karela juice.
Last year, a senior scientist died and his wife was taken ill seriously after they drank the juice which was bitter. The matter was also raised in Parliament by Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi, MP from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. “Bottle gourd poisoning” was the official diagnosis of the expert panel that worked under Dr S K Sharma, Head of Department of medicine at AIIMS.
Bottle gourd.. such a fantastic vegetable but many people dislike to include in there meal. This easy digestive vegetable has many benefits. Now a days ayurvedic doctors and yoga guru s are giving advises to include bottle gourd in every ones diet. Even for elder people also,this vegetable is usefull as it is having lot of medicinal values. Especially it contains 'o' cholesterol, high in dietary fiber and protein.
The committee said any patient with symptoms of discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and gastrointestinal bleeding after consumption of lauki juice should be put on IV fluids before a detailed examination of the vital organs was carried out. Details of the quantity of the juice consumed and its taste should be recorded.
As no specific antidote is available, physicians can manage the patients, putting them on IV fluids and blood transfusion including frozen plasma to maintain the haemodynamic and electrolyte balance, and containing gastrointestinal bleeding, according to the committee.
Origin and Distribution: The bottle gourds have been cultivated since time immemorial and they are, probably one of the earliest vegetables cultivated by man. It appears to have originated in Africa where it occurs spontaneously as it also does in India. It is now widely cultivated throughout the tropics, especially India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, tropical Africa and South America. The bottle gourd is a warm season crop and grows best in a warm humid climate.
Botanical Name : Lagenaria siceraria
Indian Name:- Lauki, Doodhi Bhopala, Ghia and Kaddu. cucuzzi squash
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Botany: The bottle gourd is a hairy, rapid growing trailing or climbing annual herb, extending 30 feet or more in length. It has stout 5-angled stems, long-stalked, 5-lobeq. leaves and large yellow flowers. The fruits which may exceed 5 feet in length vary in shape. In India, their woody shells serve as utensils and as sounding boxes for the sitar and ektara used by the bauls of Bengal. The pulp of the fruit is eaten as a cooked vegetable. Raw juice of this fruit is used.
