A Review of the Phytochemistry, Ethnobotany, Toxicology, and Pharmacological Potentials of Crescentia cujete L. (Bignoniaceae)

Abstract

Crescentia cujete is an economical and medicinal plant of wide indigenous uses including hypertension, diarrhea, respiratory ailments, stomach troubles, infertility problems, cancer, and snakebite. Despite these attributes, C. cujete is largely underutilized, notwithstanding the few progresses made to date. Here, we reviewed the available findings on the ethnobotany, phytochemistry, toxicology, and pharmacology, as well as other economic benefits of the plant. The information on the review was gathered from major scientific databases (Google scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, Springer, and BioMed Central) using journals, books, and/or chapters, dissertations, and conference proceedings. The review established the antidiabetic, antioxidant, acaricidal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antivenom, wound healing, neuroprotection, antiangiogenic, and cytotoxic properties from aqueous and organic (particularly ethanol) aerial parts attributed to several secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phenols, cardiac glycosides, phytosterols, reducing sugar, and volatile oils. Economically, the fruit hard outer shell found applications as musical tools, tobacco pipes, bowls, food containers, and bioethanol production. While most of the current studies on C. cujete are mainly from Asia and South America (Philippines, Bangladesh, India, etc.), part of the persistence challenge is lack of comprehensive data on the plant from in vivo pharmacological studies of its already characterized compounds for probable clinical trials toward drug discovery. Consequently, upon this, modern and novel translational studies including the concept of ‘-omics’ are suggested for studies aiming to outfit more comprehensive data on its therapeutic profiles against pathological markers of diseases and to fully explore its economic benefits.

Cheminformatics Bioprospection of Broad Spectrum Plant Secondary Metabolites Targeting the Spike Proteins of Omicron Variant and Wild-Type SARS-CoV-2

“…A total of 73 compounds ( Supplementary Table S1 ), 58 of which had been reported to have been isolated from different parts of C. cujete [ 13 , 15 ], 14 phytoconstituents from corn silk [ 11 ] and some of those previously identified as promising anti-SC-2 metabolites [ 14 ] were used in this study and will be regarded as LOCM going forward.…”

“…Among the alternative therapeutic options, the use of phytochemicals to combat viral infections is well documented [ 9 , 10 ]. This study forms part of the on-going efforts at developing potent therapeutics against the druggable targets of SC-2, and adopted a computational approach to screen metabolites from corn silk, an underutilized waste product of corn cultivation [ 11 ], and Crescentia cujete , an economical and medicinal plant with wide indigenous uses against several ailments including respiratory diseases [ 12 , 13 ], against SP of the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type (SC-2WT) and omicron variants to identify probable broad spectrum leads. Phytoconstituents previously identified as promising anti-SC-2 metabolites [ 14 ] were also included to make the library of compounds considered in this study.…”

Evaluación de la extracción del colorante de totumo (Crescentia cujete L.) en un producto textil

“…The objective of this study was to evaluate the extraction of colorant from the pulp of the fruit of calabash tree (Crescentia cujete L.) obtained in Granada (Meta, Colombia). Such extraction was performed using three different solvents (water, sodium hydroxide, and ethanol) to determine (1) the solvent that offers the highest yield and the greatest stability in resistance tests applied to a textile product and (2) the metabolites present in the samples. For this purpose, the dye was extracted by the digestion method, where 150 g of pulp were placed in three different beakers, adding water, ethanol, and sodium hydroxide until a volume of 300 ml was reached over 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour, respectively, at a constant agitation and a temperature of 75 °C.…”

“…El árbol de totumo, de nombre científico Crescentia cujete L. [1], es también nombrado "en diferentes regiones de Colombia como calabazo, candongo, calabazo de pico, cuya, mate totumo, mate, pilche, puro, zumbo, totuma, totumillo, totumo candongo, totumo cimarrón, totumo cucharo, totumo grande, totumo mate, totumo, táparo o tapara" [2], [3].…”

“…El fruto pasa por formas cilíndricas y ovoides de corteza verde brillante y contiene una pulpa blanca con gran cantidad de semillas elipsoideas. Para [1], se encuentra en regiones tropicales y es una especie semicultivada a todo lo largo de América Tropical. Suele hallarse junto con árboles frutales en casas de campo.…”