Botanical species · safety record

Citrullus colocynthis

The EFSA Compendium of Botanicals holds 19 constituent measurements, 11 adverse-effect records and 1 genotoxicity assay for Citrullus colocynthis. This page reports what those source records contain and how to reach them. It carries no effect estimate, no dose and no recommendation.

Accepted name in source: Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.

19Constituent measurements

12Safety records

14Cited sources

15Licensed products (Canada)

Also recorded as

Cucumis colocynthis L.

Synonyms are carried from the source compendium. A species may be traded and studied under more than one name, which is exactly how a safety record gets lost.

Regulatory presence

Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database holds 15 licensed products naming Citrullus colocynthis as a medicinal ingredient, matched on the exact Latin binomial. A licence records that a product met the regulator's requirements for sale in Canada. It is not evidence that the product works.

Source material stated

Dried peeled fruits without seeds
Dried, peeled, deseeded fruits of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad or pieces thereof
Dried, peeled, deseeded fruits or pieces thereof
Fruit pulp
Fruit pulp without seeds
Fruit(s)
Fruits
Pulp excluding seeds

What the records describe

Constituents measured

Plant parts

Preparations

Effect types

Target tissues

Recorded constituents

What analytical work has found in this species, at which plant part and preparation. A measured constituent is a fact about material, not about effect.

Substance	Plant part	Preparation	Concentration	Analytical method	Source
Alkaloids	Seed	Solvent extraction	—	—	Resolve DOI
Coumarins	Live plants	Solvent extraction	—	—	Resolve DOI
Cucurbitacine e	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	≤ 0.05 Percent	Standard Chromatographic tests (paper- thin layer- and column chromatography)	Resolve DOI
Cucurbitacine e	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	≥ 0.01 Percent	Standard Chromatographic tests (paper- thin layer- and column chromatography)	Resolve DOI
Cucurbitacins	Seed	Solvent extraction	—	—	Resolve DOI
Saponins	Seed	Solvent extraction	—	—	Resolve DOI
Alkaloids	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	43.63 Milligram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Alkaloids	Roots and other underground parts	Solvent extraction	5.64 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Alkaloids	Leaves	Solvent extraction	27.54 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Alkaloids	Stem / stalk	Solvent extraction	12.91 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Cyanogenic glycosides	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	1.58 Milligram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Oxalates	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	1.3 Milligram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Phytic acid	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	0.01 Gram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Saponins	Stem / stalk	Solvent extraction	111.9 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Saponins	Live plants	Solvent extraction	—	—	No resolvable identifier
Saponins	Roots and other underground parts	Solvent extraction	147.2 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Saponins	Leaves	Solvent extraction	102.5 Milligram/gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Tannins	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	0.05 Gram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier
Trypsin inhibitors	Seed	Drying (dehydration)	0.75 Milligram/100 gram	Phytochemical screening	No resolvable identifier

Recorded adverse effects

Adverse effects reported in the source literature, most often in animal or laboratory models at a stated preparation and dose.

Effect	Target tissue	Plant part	Preparation	Test organism	Test type	Source
Digestive	Respiratory	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	Rat (as animal)	Acute toxicity	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Liver	Fruit unspecified	Powder	Rat (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Respiratory	Flower	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Acute toxicity	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Stomach	Fruit unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Stomach	Fruit unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Reproductive	Blood coagulation	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Liver	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	Human (as organism)	Case report	No resolvable identifier
Digestive	Digestive	Fruit unspecified	—	—	Case report	No resolvable identifier
Digestive	Digestive	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Acute toxicity	No resolvable identifier
Reproductive	Uterus	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Reproduction toxicity	No resolvable identifier
Reproductive	Uterus	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Reproduction toxicity	No resolvable identifier

Genotoxicity testing

Outcomes of genotoxicity assays as recorded in the source. A negative assay is a result under those test conditions, not a clearance.

Outcome	Endpoint	Test	Tested organism	Metabolic activation	Source
Positive	chromosome aberration	chromosome aberration assay	Rat (as animal)	—	No resolvable identifier

Cited sources

The literature the compendium cites for this species. Metatron Health has no relationship with these authors or journals and earns nothing from citing them.

Rezvani, M., Hassanpour, M., Khodashenas, M., Naseh, G., Abdollahi, M., Mehrpour, O. Citrullus colocynthis (bitter apple) poisoning; a case report. Indian journal of forensic medicine and toxicology, 2011, vol. 5, no. 2, p. 25-27.
Soufane, S., Bedda, A., Mahdeb, N., Bouzidi, A. Acute toxicity study on citrullus colocynthis fruit methanol extract in albino rats. Journal of applied pharmaceutical science, 2013, vol. 3, no. 6, p. 88-93. DOI
Shah, A.H., Qureshi, S., Tariq, M., Ageel, A.M. Toxicity studies on six plants used in the traditional Arab system of medicine. Phytotherapy research, 1989, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 25-29. DOI
Dehghani, F., Azizi, M., Panjehshahin, M. R., Talaei-Khozani, T., Mesbah, F. Toxic effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Citrullus colocynthis on pregnant mice . Iranian journal of veterinary research, 2008, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 42-45.
Khan, SA., Shelleh, HH., Bhat, AR., Bhat, KS. Colocynth toxicity - A possible cause of bloody diarrhea. Saudi medical journal, 2003, vol. 24, no. 8, p. 904-906.
Al-Yahya, MA., Al-Farhan, AH., Adam, SEI. Preliminary toxicity study on the individual and combined effects of Citrullus colocynthis and Nerium oleander in rats . Fitoterapia, 2000, vol. 71, no. 4, p. 385-391. DOI
Hassanane, M. S., El Fiky, S., Abd-El-Baset, S. A., Shouman, T. M., El-Nahass, E. A genotoxic study of Citrullus colocynthis extract. Bulletin of the national research centre (egypt), 2001, vol. 26, no. 2, p. 223-235.
Diwan, F H., Abdel-Hassan, I A., Mohammed, S T. Effect of saponin on mortality and histopathological changes in mice.. Eastern mediterranean health journal = la revue de sante de la mediterranee orientale = al-majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit, 2000, vol. 6, no. 2-3, p. 345-51.
Igwenyi, I.O., Ezeifedika, O.M., Agbafor, K.N., Offor, C.E., Ibiam, U.A., Aja, P.M. Anti-nutritional factors in afzelia afrcana and citrullus colocynthis and effects of the seeds on liver enzyme activities of albino rats. Indian journal of science and technology, 2013, vol. 6, no. 7, p. 5008-5012.
Murugesan, S., Muthusamy, M. Screening and quantitative estimation of phytochemical constituents in Citrullus colocynthis (Linn.) Schrad.. International journal of research in phytochemistry & pharmacology, 2011, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 176-179.
Javadzadeh, Hamid Reza., Davoudi, Amir., Davoudi, Farnoush., Valizadegan, Ghasem., Goodarzi, Hasan., Mahmoodi, Sadrollah., Ghane, Mohammad Reza., Faraji, Mehrdad. Citrullus colocynthis as the Cause of Acute Rectorrhagia.. Case reports in emergency medicine, 2013, vol. 2013, p. 652192-652192. DOI
Lahfa, F. B., Azzi, R., Mezouar, D., Djaziri, R. Hypoglycemic effect of Citrullus colocynthis extracts. Phytotherapie (paris), 2017, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 50-56. DOI
Madari, H., Jacobs, R.S. An analysis of cytotoxic botanical formulations used in the traditional medicine of ancient Persia as abortifacients. Journal of natural products, 2004, vol. 67, no. 8, p. 1204-1210. DOI
Ayyad, Seif-Eldin N., Abdel-Lateff, Ahmed., Alarif, Walied M., Patacchioli, Francesca R., Badria, Farid A., Ezmirly, Saleh T. In vitro and in vivo study of cucurbitacins-type triterpene glucoside from Citrullus colocynthis growing in Saudi Arabia against hepatocellular carcinoma . Environmental toxicology and pharmacology, 2012, vol. 33, no. 2, p. 245-251. DOI

Boundary

A constituent measurement is a fact about material at a stated preparation, not a statement about what that material does in a person. An adverse-effect or genotoxicity record is an observation reported in a source, most often in an animal or laboratory model. Neither is a Metatron Health conclusion about causality, human risk or benefit, and the absence of a record is not proof that a preparation is safe. Nothing here is diagnosis, prescribing or individual medical care.

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