PHYTOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL STUDIES OF BOTTLE GOURD (LAGENARIA SICERARIA LS) CULTIVATED IN EGYPTIAN HABITATS

Abstract

In this study, the phytochemical and nutritional valueofthe different parts of Bottle gourd; Lagenaria siceraria LS, cultivated in Egypt has been evaluated. Particularly, extracts of fresh/dried fruits, fresh/roasted seeds, and fresh/dried leaves of Bottle gourd were studied. Analysis of minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and isoflavonoids was investigated together with the GC-MS tentative visualization of the unpolar compounds in fruits, seeds, and leaves, establishing their unique constituents. According to this study, the bottle gourd parts were confirmed to contain eleven minerals, seventeen amino acids, twenty-one phenolic analogs, ten flavonoids and four isoflavonoids. Moreover, the fresh/roasted seeds are rich with seventeen fatty acids where linoleic acid (C18:2 omega 6) was the most abundant among them. Based on GC-MS analysis, it has been recognized that dry fruits extract revealed the presence of thirty compounds, meanwhile the fresh seeds indicated the presence of eighteen compounds, while roasted seeds hexane soluble fraction exhibited the existence of sixteen compounds and the dichloromethane soluble fraction of roasted seeds revealed the presence of ten compounds, and finally, the air-dried leaves revealed the presence of fourteen compounds.