Evaluating Cucumber Fruit as a Health-giving Vegetable

Abstract

Cucumber vegetable (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the very widely cultivated agricultural crops not only in Turkey but in the World as well. Cucumber has become a very popular fruit especially, in the Western Countries due to its high water and low calorie contents. The vegetable has been using in traditional medicine in India and China since ancient times. The fruit cosmetically used for nourishing the skin. The fruit has a soothing effect against skin irritations, swellings and sunburns. The fruit also carries refrigerant, haemostatic and tonic properties. A number of bioactive compounds have been found in cucumbers including cucurbitacins, cucumegastigmanes I and II, cucumerin A and B, vitexin, orientin, etc. This review explores phytochemical and pharmacological facts of cucumber fruits and points out some their therapeutic potential.

Keywords

• Functional food,medicinal plant,folk medicine,anti-aging

Hıyar Meyvesinin Şifalı Bir Sebze Olarak Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Hıyar sebzesi hem dünyada hem de Türkiye’de oldukça yüksek miktarda üretilen tarımsal ürünlerden bir tanesidir. Hıyar yüksek su içeriği ve düşük kalori değeri ile Batı Ülkeleri’nde popüler bir sebze haline gelmiştir. Sebze Hindistan ve Çin’de uzun zamandır halk hekimliğinde kullanılmaktadır. Kozmetik olarak, hıyar meyvesi özellikle cilt besleyici olarak kabul görmektedir. Hıyar meyvesi tahriş/kaşıntı, şişme ve güneş yanıklığına karşı deride rahatlatıcı bir etkiye neden olabilmektedir. Hıyar ayrıca serinletici, tonik ve kanama durdurucu etkiye sahiptir. Hıyarlardan kukurbitasin, cucumegastigman I and II, cucumerin A and B, vitexin, orientin gibi çok sayıda biyoaktif bileşenler izole edilmiştir. Bu derleme ile hıyarın fitokimyasal ve farmakolojik özelliğini incelenmiş ve terapötik potansiyeline dikkat çekilmiştir.     

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fonsiyonel gıda,tıbbi bitki,halk hekimliği,yaşlanma geciktirici

Kaynakça

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