Benincasa hispida belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae and has notable medicinal properties as it has anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic and antimicrobial properties. Methanolic extracts of B. hispida pulp and seed were obtained separately through reflux extraction to perform further experiments. Various experimental tests were carried out to understand the physicochemical, antimicrobial and fluorescence properties. HPTLC and phytochemical profiles were also obtained. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the pulp showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and triterpenes whereas incase of the seed, saponins and triterpenes were absent. Microscopy of the samples showed the presence of helical xylem vessels, stone cells and parenchyma cells in pulp; oil globules, and fibersin seed. The maximum antimicrobial activity of B. hispida pulp was seen at a sample concentration of 10µL where the activity was more than standard against Escherichia coli and Aspergillus niger and in case of the seed, maximum activity was seen at the same concentration as that of the pulp as there was an increase in activity in comparison to the standard against Aspergillus niger. The activity of the seed was equivalent to that of the standard against Escherichia coli. HPTLC profiling showed 5 bands each in 5 lanes and 7 bands each in 5 lanes of increasing concentration, in pulp and seed extracts respectively and a pattern unique to Benincasa hispida.
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Mirekar et al. (2024) studied this question.
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