Botanical species · safety record

Luffa operculata

The EFSA Compendium of Botanicals holds 7 constituent measurements, 2 adverse-effect records and 1 genotoxicity assay for Luffa operculata. 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: Luffa operculata (L.) Cogn.

7Constituent measurements

3Safety records

9Cited sources

46Licensed products (Canada)

Regulatory presence

Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database holds 46 licensed products naming Luffa operculata 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 fruit
Fruit
Fruit(s)
Whole fruit

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
Cucurbitacin b	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)	Resolve DOI
Cucurbitacins	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)/Liquid Chromatography (LC)	Resolve DOI
Cucurbitacins	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)	Resolve DOI
Chrysophanol	Stem / stalk	Solvent extraction	—	Standard Chromatographic tests (paper- thin layer- and column chromatography)	No resolvable identifier
Emodin	Stem / stalk	Solvent extraction	—	Standard Chromatographic tests (paper- thin layer- and column chromatography)	No resolvable identifier
Isocucurbitacin b	Unspecified	—	—	—	No resolvable identifier
Pentacyclic triterpene saponins	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)/Liquid Chromatography (LC)	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
Reproductive	Urogenital	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	House mouse (as animal)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Not reported	—	Unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	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
Ambiguous	chromosome aberration	other	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.

Lanini, Juliana., Duarte-Almeida, Joaquim M., Nappo, Solange., Carlini, Elisaldo A. Natural and therefore free of risks - adverse effects, poisonings and other problems related to medicinal herbs by raizeiros in Diadema/SP. . Revista brasileira de farmacognosia-brazilian journal of pharmacognosy, 2009, vol. 19, no. 1A, p. 121-129.
Costa, K.C.S., Bezerra, S.B., Norte, C.M., Nunes, L.M.N., de Olinda, T.M. Medicinal plants with teratogenic potential: Current considerations. Brazilian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2012, vol. 48, no. 3, p. 427-433. DOI
Kawahara, N., Kurata, A., Hakamatsuka, T., Sekita, S., Satake, M. Two novel cucurbitacins, neocucurbitacins A and B, from the Brazilian folk medicine Buchinha (Luffa operculata) and their effect on PEBP2 alpha A and OCIF gene expression in a human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cell line. CHEMICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL BULLETIN, 2001, vol. 49, no. 10, p. 1377-1379. DOI
Lang, Karen Luise., Silva, Izabella Thais., Zimmermann, Lara Almida., Machado, Vanessa Rocha., Teixeira, Marina Rodrigues., Ivana Lapuh, Maria., Alejandra Galetti, Mariana., Alejandro Palermo, Jorge., Myriam Cabrera, Gabriela., Campos Bernardes, Lilian Sibelle., Oliveira Simoes, Claudia Maria., Schenkel, Eloir Paulo., Balparda Caro, Miguel Soriano., Javier Duran, Fernando. Synthesis and cytotoxic activity evaluation of dihydrocucurbitacin B and cucurbitacin B derivatives . Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 2012, vol. 20, no. 9, p. 3016-3030. DOI
de Sousa, Cleia R., Monte, Francisco J. Q. Isolation and identification of two quinones from stems of Luffa operculata Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae). Revista Latinoamericana de Quimica, 2009, p. 201-205.
MEDEIROS, MD., TAKAHASHI, CS. ACTION OF LUFFA-OPERCULATA (CUCURBITACEAE) ON THE CHROMOSOMES OF WISTAR RATS . Cytologia, 1987, vol. 52, no. 2, p. 261-265.
Okabe, Hikaru., Nagao, Tsuneatsu., Hachiyama, Shizuko., Yamauchi, Tatsuo. Studies on the constituents of Luffa operculata Cogn. II. Isolation and structure elucidation of saponins in the herb. Chemical Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 1989, p. 895-900.
MATOS, FJD., GOTTLIEB, OR. ISOCUCURBITACINE B CYTOTOXIC CONSTITUANT OF LUFFA OPERCULATA. Anais da academia brasileira de ciencias, 1967, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 245-&.
Kawahara, N., Kurata, A., Hakamatsuka, T., Sekita, S., Satake, M. Two new cucurbitacin glucosides, opercurins A and B, from the Brazilian folk medicine Buchinha (Luffa operculata). CHEMICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL BULLETIN, 2004, vol. 52, no. 8, p. 1018-1020. 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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