Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. And Punica granatum L.: A Review of Phytochemistry, Toxicity, Mitigation Strategies, and Prospects for a Standardized Multi-Fruit Functional Beverage for Diabetes and Cancer Support

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-821-4_5How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Citrullus colocynthis; cucurbitacins; pomegranate; functional beverage; antidiabetic activity; anticancer activity; detoxification; nutraceutical formulation

Abstract

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad., known as bitter apple, Indrayan, or Gaduma, is a desert cucurbit long used in traditional medicine and increasingly studied for its antidiabetic and anticancer bioactivity. Its principal active constituents, the cucurbitacins, are also responsible for a well-documented toxicity profile affecting the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, and reproductive outcomes, which has historically limited its therapeutic use. This review synthesizes the phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological literature on C. colocynthis, examines the biosynthetic origin of its bitterness and toxicity, and evaluates documented and proposed strategies for reducing its toxic load while retaining beneficial activity. Building on this evidence, the review develops the rationale for a standardized functional beverage combining a detoxified C. colocynthis fraction with pomegranate (Punica granatum) and complementary fruits such as amla (Phyllanthus emblica) and jamun (Syzygium cumini), alongside safe, non-bioactive flavor and stability additions. For each documented side effect, corresponding mitigation strategies reported in the literature are identified and discussed. The review concludes with future research directions required before such a formulation could be considered for human use.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Suyash Meena
AU  - Khushi Vyas
AU  - Manasvi Sharma
AU  - Preenon Bagchi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/31
TI  - Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. And Punica granatum L.: A Review of Phytochemistry, Toxicity, Mitigation Strategies, and Prospects for a Standardized Multi-Fruit Functional Beverage for Diabetes and Cancer Support
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems Design And Intelligent Applications (ICISDA 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 43
EP  - 55
SN  - 1951-6851
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-821-4_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-821-4_5
ID  - Meena2026
ER  -