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Cucumber is one of the most widely consumed vegetables worldwide, and the fruit spine is an important fruit quality trait. Expansins play critical roles in fruit development; however, the regulation of expansins in cucumber fruit spine development has not been reported. In this study, 33 expansin genes were identified in the cucumber genome V3; additionally, expansin genes in Citrullus lanatus, Cucumis melo, Cucurbita maxima, Lagenaria siceraria, and Benincasa hispida were also identified. Phylogenetic analysis of expansin proteins in Cucurbitaceae and Arabidopsis showed that they evolved separately in each plant species. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. maxima was derived earlier than the other five Cucurbitaceae species. The expression of CsEXPA2, CsEXPA14, and CsEXLA3 varied in cucumber lines with different fruit spine densities. A yeast two-hybrid assay showed that a putative auxin transporter encoded by numerous spine gene (ns) interacts with CsEXLA2, which may be involved in the development of the numerous spines in cucumber. These results provide novel insights into the expansins related to plant development and fruit spine development in cucumber.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] and citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf. ex Greb.) are amongst the widely grown yet under-researched cucurbits genetic resources in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Fresh immature leaves, fruit and seed are used for food and medicinal purposes in the region. Furthermore, both species are used as rootstock and donors of novel genes for commercial production and breeding of sweet dessert watermelon cultivars. Despite their economic value and contribution to food and nutrition security in the region, bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources remain under-utilized and largely un-explored for commercial product development. The objective of this review was to document the unique values of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for genetic improvement and development of value-added food and non-food products, and to highlight regional and global efforts on conservation, production, processing, commercialization and various enterprise development of these important indigenous species. The review discussed on the value of both crops as a rootstock to improve fruit yield and quality of cultivated watermelon. This is followed by important summaries on phenotypic and genetic variation of bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources and implications for new cultivar design. Finally, the review highlighted value-added non-food and food-based products developed based on indigenous knowledge systems in SSA and availability and access to genetic resources of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for breeding, product design and deployment.

Bottle gourd is an important cucurbitaceous crop. The impact of 14 species from eight fungal genera on bottle gourd seeds was studied through in vitro tests. Bottle gourd seeds were inoculated with each isolate separately and subjected to various germination tests. Maximum germination inhibition was upto 69.3% due to Fusarium proliferatum. Inoculation of seeds with F. proliferatum significantly reduced the germination speed index to 2.69. The seedling vigour index I for seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum and F. incarnation-equiseti (species complex) was 860 and 861, respectively, significantly different from that of non-inoculated seeds having a vigour index of 1791. The seedling vigour index II of seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum was 1818, significantly lower than the control (4631), indicating that the F. proliferatum isolate was highly virulent among all the isolates. Amongst seven plant protectants evaluated for their efficacy as seed dressers against F. proliferatum, propioconazole (25% EC), copper oxychloride (50% WP) and Mancozeb (75% WP) were effective in reducing infection. Germination percentage was highest for seeds treated with the bioagent Trichoderma harzianum 1% WP.

Context: Psychosis is a mental disorder, which is characterized as the reducing association with certainty and conviction. Around 1-2% of the world's population suffers from psychosis. The people affected by psychosis have hallucinations, delusions, forgetfulness, abolition, and anhedonia. Currently existing most of the anti- psychotic medications express the adverse drug reactions. Thus for the management of psychosis, satisfactory and adequate remedies are not available. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (LS) (Cucurbitaceae) fruits, popularly known as “bottle gourd” (English) and “Lauki” (Hindi), exhibit numerous intrinsic therapeutic properties and actions. However limited scientific investigations have been performed to determine the neuroprotective potential of LS fruits. With this background, the present study was intended to investigate LS fruits for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity. Aims and Objectives: The rationale of this study was to evaluate the anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of the methanolic extract of LS i.e., chloroform fraction of the methanolic extract (CFME), and acetone fraction of the methanolic extract (AFME) by using experimental models of cataleptic and stereotypic behavior in Swiss Albino mice. Materials and Methods: Haloperidol-induced catalepsy and apomorphine-induced stereotypy were the experimental screening tests performed for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of methanolic extract of LS fruits at the doses of 100, 200, and 400mg/kg, p.o. in mice. Results: CFME and AFME, 100-400 mg/kg, significantly reduced cataleptic score and stereotypic behavior in mice, in dose-dependent manner. At doses of 200 and 400mg/ kg, AFME (P

The edible seeds of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] are rich in oils, proteins and minerals of high nutritional quality. They are highly prized in pan tropical regions where they constitute valuable resources for food and nutrition security. In this study, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) was combined with chemometrics to assess the variability of seed chemical content of African cultivars for the selection of nutritional traits. Six hundred seeds of four accessions belonging to two cultivars were collected from the Ivory Coast (West Africa) and analysed. The NIR-HSI spectra collected on whole seeds in the 1100-2400 nm range revealed that the main absorption bands of the seed chemical content were associated with water, lipids and proteins. The absorbance values between seeds of the same accession in these spectral regions varied up to 1.8 folds. Among the two chemometric tools used, principal component analysis (PCA) did not separate the accessions while Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) discriminated the accessions with 87.33 % to 94.67 %, and the cultivars with 90 % to 92 % correct classification. Seed oils from bottle gourd are for instance rich in linoleic acid which is an essential fatty acid for human health. The non-destructive and qualitative determination of the content of single seeds was demonstrated in the study and provides the opportunity to select superior seeds for the improvement of key nutritional traits in bottle gourd. Lagenaria siceraria, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, seed chemical content, PCA, PLS-DA, nutrition security

Background: Cancer is constituted as the most famous fatal disease among human-being. DMBA is a common carcinogen and immunosuppressant and experimentally used for the induction of mutations via the creation of DNA adducts. Aim: Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of Lagenaria siceraria on 9,10 dimethyl-1, 2-benzanthracene (DMBA)-induced changes. Materials and Methods: A total number of thirty adult female albino rats within average age 3 months classified into 3 groups as follow: Group1 is designated as control. Group 2 was subcutaneously injected with a single dose of DMBA (10 mg/ 100 g b. wt) and after 90 days, animals have received a daily injection of distilled water for 30 days. Group 3 was subcutaneously mice were injected with a single dose of DMBA and after 90 days, mice were received morning and night daily injection of Lagenaria siceraria (100 mg/ 100 g b.w) for 30 days. After scarifying the mice, ileum samples were taken and passed the histological examination, also Histochemical stains were done. Results: From the cell biological, histochemical, and histopathological points of view, the carcinogen DMBA has a highly stimulatory effect on the cellular activities, DNA synthesis, RNA synthesis, and cell proliferative in the normal epithelial cells lining villi of the ileum of female mice, while Lagenaria siceraria has a highly inhibitory effect on the volume of the nuclei, DNA synthesist, and the cell proliferation of the DMBA-induced cells lining villi of the ileum of female mice. Conclusion: Finally, it could be said that the carcinogen DMBA has a proliferative and/or possibly a carcinogenic effect on the ileum of female mice. Also, It could be concluded that Lagenaria siceraria could be offered an antiproliferative and/or possibly an anti-carcinogenic effect against DMBA.

Cucurbits include the major vegetables group cultivated widely in India during summer and rainy seasons. Out of different cucurbitaceous crops grown, bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) occupies a highest place in human diet but prevalence of various mycoflora acts as a major limiting factor in deteriorating the crop qualitatively as well as quantitatively. In the present study, mycoflora associated with seeds and fruits of bottle gourd was isolated using different methods and characterized on the basis of colony colour, type of spore, spore size and spore shape. The identity was further confirmed through microbial identification services of CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International). The isolated fungal flora was enumerated on the basis of per cent isolation frequency of individual mycoflora. A total of fourteen fungal species belonging to eight genera were isolated with prevalence of Fusarium proliferatum as external as well as internal seed borne and Talaromyces pinophilus as external seed borne mycoflora. Amongst three methods used for seed mycoflora isolation, moist blotter paper method was found to be the best followed by deep freezing and agar plate methods, respectively.

Bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley, is a top ranked important vegetable crop in Bangladesh. Recently, bottle gourd production in the north eastern part of Bangladesh has reduced greatly by the infestation of an invasive beetle species. This study is the very first report that confirmed the species as sap beetle, Epuraea sp. (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) (Accession No: MW256489.1) by molecular barcoding. It was observed that Epuraea sp. has spread in all the four districts viz. Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamgonj and Maulvibazar of the north eastern part of Bangladesh. This beetle caused the pollination failure in bottle gourd by consuming the pollens voraciously from the male flowers. Just after blooming of bottle gourd flowers, Epuraea sp. adults attacked the male flowers and fed almost all the pollens and also damaged the stamens. In severe cases these beetles also fed the pollens on the stigma of female flowers that carried by the other pollinators. The mean numbers of beetles per male and female flowers were 6.4 ± 1.02, 1.8 ± 0.37, 2.0 ± 0.44, 2.6 ± 0.55 and 1.6 ± 0.24, 0, 0, 1.4 ± 0.2 in Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamgonj and Maulvibazar, respectively. Eventually, this infestation occurred 29.6 to 52.6% fruit setting reduction by this pest.

Introduction: Ulcer is a common gastrointestinal disorder and can be characterized by inflamed lesions of the mucosa and tissue that protect the gastrointestinal tract. These ulcers can develop when the imbalance occurs between the gastroprotective (mucus, bicarbonate, and prostaglandins) and aggressive (acid, pepsin, bile salts, and Helicobacter pylori bacteria). According to research and as other species from genus Lagenaria shows analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihyperlipidemic, diuretic, and antihelmintic activities on the fruit of Lagenaria siceraria. Methods: The anti-ulcer activity of methanolic extract of Lagenaria siceraria fruits was investigated in pylorus ligation, ethanol-induced, Asprin induced and Cold-restraint stress-induced ulcer models in Wistar rats. In all models, the common parameter determined was the ulcer index. Results: The extract (100 mg/kg & 200 mg/kg) showed a significant (P

The present investigation was carried out at the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellayani, during 2019-2020 to study the performance of bottle gourd genotypes. Among the genotypes, the BG-3 recorded the lower most node to fruit production (13.7) and highest fruit set per cent (43.4%). BG-2 was earliest to first fruit harvest (57.8 days). IC 371745 recorded longer fruit length (68.8 cm) which was at par with IC 538142 (62.2 cm). Genotype IC417704 recorded maximum fruit diameter and flesh thickness (15.97 cm and 12.56 cm). Genotype IC 331101 recorded the lowest rind thickness (1.69 mm) and IC 536593 recorded the highest fruit weight (2.41 kg). Tvpm Local recorded highest number of fruits per vine (6) followed by Pant Lauki-4 (4.3). The highest fruit yield was recoeded in Tvpm Local (43.98 t ha-1) with crop duration of 129.4 days. The highest TSS and ascorbic acid content were noted in the BG-3 (2.5°B) and IC398545 (12.0 mg 100-1 g), respectively. Based on the mean yield performance of the genotypes and selection index score IC 536593, Tvpm Local and Pant lauki-4 were best performing genotypes.

Herbal remedies have been employed for the treatment and management of different diseases for ages. Herbal medicines are a promising choice over modern synthetic drugs because of their low side effects and are thus considered to be safe and effective in treating human diseases. Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley fruit (Bottle gourd) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family that has been used in a different system of traditional medication to treat various diseases. This is a domestic plant that provides food as well as medication. This vegetable have low caloric values and high water contents. The edible portion of it contains phytochemicals like vitamins, proteins, choline, minerals, terpenoids, flavonoids, etc. Several bioactive compounds have been isolated from L. siceraria, including triterpenoids, sterols, cucurbitacins, flavones, C-glycosides and β-glycosides. Researchers have evaluated various parts of this plant viz. fruit, root, flowers, and leaves for pharmacological activities like antianxiety, antidepressant, diuretic, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antihyperlipidemic, cardio protective, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, anti-hyperglycemic, antihepatotoxic, anti-urolithiatic, antistress, antiulcer, anticancer, hepatoprotective, anthelmintic, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant. In this review, an attempt has been made to explore its phytochemical constituents, traditional, medicinal, and pharmacological uses to highlight the therapeutic importance of this well-known plant. This would be helpful in reviving its importance and will highlight its several promising aspects to encourage researchers for further research on L. siceraria.

This study aimed to analyze the evolution of Benincasa hispida (DGA) in the Cucurbitaceae family, as well as the phylogenetic relationships of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene family in six Cucurbitaceae species. Whole genome sequencing of DGA was performed and compared to genomes of several Cucurbitaceae species that were downloaded from public databases in order to analyze the evolution of DGA in the Cucurbitaceae family. Moreover, we studied the expansion and contraction of gene families during evolution and the phylogenetic relationships of the PAL gene family in six Cucurbitaceae species. Phylogenetic analysis showed that among the Cucurbitaceae species, Cucumis melo and Cucumis sativus shared the same ancestor; Lagenaria siceraria and Citrullus lanatus shared the same ancestor; and Cucurbita maxima (CMA), Cucurbita moschata (CMO), and Cucurbita pepo (CPE) shared the same ancestor. Notably, DGA was located on a separate branch, indicating that it was the only species of its genus. CPE and CMO had closer kinship, suggesting a significant effect of regional factors on Cucurbitaceae species evolution. Moreover, there was a large amount of gene loss in the genome during evolution from the common ancestor to DGA. The PAL gene family was highly conserved during the evolution of the Cucurbitaceae family.

Lagenaria breviflora (Benth.) Roberty Bas.: Adenopus breviflorus Benth. Perennial, climbing herb, in forest galleries. C.N.: mudia-ua-ditanga-sese, tanga-sese (kb)., Published as part of Monteiro, Francisca, Costa, Esperança Da, Kissanga, Raquel, Costa, José Carlos & Catarino, Luís, 2022, An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Quiçama National Park, Angola, pp. 1-67 in Phytotaxa 557 (1) on page 28, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.557.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6985699

An investigation was carried out to study the performance of 28 hybrids of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria mol. stand) through diallel mating design excluding reciprocals. Observations were recorded on the traits, viz., number of primary branches per vine, days to 50% flowering, node number at which first female flower appears, days to initiation of first female flower, number of fruits per vine, days to first fruit harvest, fruit weight, fruit size, hundred seed weight, flesh thickness, vine length and fruit yield per vine besides quality traits such as moisture content and TSS content in the fruit. Among the 28 hybrids of bottle gourd studied, thecross ‘PSPL X Pusa Naveen excelled in yield per vine, followed by the crosses ‘DBG-5XPusa Naveen. Thus, first generation hybrids can be well-utilized for exploiting hybrid vigour to achieve improved quality.

Graphene oxide was derived from Lagenaria Siceraria peel and the ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using the green synthesis method. Zn1–xO-rGOx was synthesized with different concentrations (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) that were referred as S1, S2, and S3, respectively. The rGO-ZnO nanoparticles have been characterized with XRD, DLS, zeta potential, FTIR, FT-Raman, UV, SEM, TEM, EDAX and mapping analysis. The charge storage, cycle stability of the rGO-ZnO nanoparticles were explored using cyclic voltammetry. The highest specific capacitance for nanoparticles was determined to be 371, 382 and 398 F/g for S1, S2, and S3 at the scan rate close to 10 mV/s.

Composite laminates are prepared based on new agro waste of 4% alkali-treated and untreated Lagenaria siceraria fiber (LSF)-reinforced epoxy resin using four different fiber lengths of 3, 5, 7, and ...

An experiment was carried out to analyze genetic variability for yield and its contributing characters in 35 bottle gourd genotypes in randomized block design with three replications to assess the nature and magnitude of association among yield and its contributing traits in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Results indicated that PCV and GCV were high (more than 20%), sex ratio for PCV was 34.19 % and GCV registered as 24.79 per cent, respectively. Moderate PCV (14.28,16.10) and GCV (13.78,13.43) were recorded for vine length and primary branches, respectively. The high genetic advance as per cent of mean along with high heritability was obtained for vine length (0.93%), fruit length (0.87%), fruit width (0.76%), primary branches (0.69%), fruits per vine (0.59 %), sex ratio (0.52%), fruit yield (0.44%), days to first female flower anthesis (0.42%), node at first female flower appears (0.41%), days to first harvest (0.40%), fruit thickness (0.37%), days to first male flower anthesis (0.37%), fruit weight (0.35%) and node at first male flower appears (0.20%).

Lagenaria abyssinica (Hook.f.) C.Jeffrey — Habit: Climber. Habitat: BZ; up to 3 000 m. Distribution: II. Voucher: Chogoria Track, Alt. 2 872 m, 27 Jan. 2015, SAJIT 002895 (HIB). References: Bussmann (1993, 1994), Bussmann & Beck (1995a, 1998)., Published as part of Zhou, Ya-Dong, Mwachala, Geoffrey, Hu, Guang-Wan & Wang, Qing-Feng, 2022, Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Mount Kenya, East Africa, pp. 1-108 in Phytotaxa 546 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.546.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6550464, {"references":["Bussmann, R. W. (1993) The forest of Mt. Kenya (Kenya): A phytosociological approach with special reference to ecological problems. Ph. D. Thesis, Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen, Tubingen, 119 pp.","Bussmann, R. W. (1994) The forest of Mt. Kenya (Kenya): Vegetation, ecology, destruction and management of a tropical mountain forest ecosystem. Ph. D. dissertation, Universitat Bayreuth Startseite, Bayreuth, 252 pp.","Bussmann, R. W. & Beck, E. (1995 a) The forests of Mt. Kenya (Kenya), a phytosociological synopsis. Phytocoenologia 25 (4): 467 - 560. https: // doi. org / 10.1127 / phyto / 25 / 1995 / 467","Bussmann, R. W. & Beck, E. (1998) The plant communities of the forests of Mount Kenya - First phytosociological and ecological data. In: Ojany, F. F. (Ed.) African mountains and highlands - planning for sustainable use of mountain resources. United Nations University, Tokyo, pp. 96 - 107."]}

Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. — Habit: Climber. Habitat: LMWF; up to 1 800 m. Distribution: II. Voucher: Meru Forest, Alt. 1 756 m, 29 Jul. 2014, SAJIT 002265 (HIB). Reference: N/A., Published as part of Zhou, Ya-Dong, Mwachala, Geoffrey, Hu, Guang-Wan & Wang, Qing-Feng, 2022, Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Mount Kenya, East Africa, pp. 1-108 in Phytotaxa 546 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.546.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6550464

The present investigation was carried out with the objective to study the combining ability of parents and hybrids for growth, earliness and yield parameters in bottle gourd. General combining ability effects of parents and sca effects of crosses were highly significant for the characters studied. The parents Bot.G-4, Bot.G-7 and Kolkata Collection are the good general combiners for fruit yield per vine. The line Bot.G-6-2 exhibited significant and maximum gca effects for vine length and number of branches. The line Kolkata Collection showed maximum and significant gca effects for days to first female flower, days to first harvest and sex ratio. Tester Samrat exhibited significant gca effects for vine length, number of branches, nodes up to first female flower, sex ratio and fruit yield per vine. Among crosses, the cross Bot.G-6-2 X Arka Bahar exhibited significant sca effects for vine length and fruit yield per vine. While the cross Bot.G-6-1 X Samrat showed significant sca effects for days to first female flowering and days to first harvest. The cross Bot.G-6 X Samrat exhibited maximum and significant sca effects for nodes up to first female flowering and sex ratio. It is evident that gca or sca effects in parents or hybrids were in desirable for some other traits. Therefore it is important to ascertain the status of parent or hybrid with respective to combining ability effects over a number of component characters.

Water pumpkin (Lagenaria siceria) is a useful plant in Indonesian. People used water pumpkin flesh as a drug wound, especially as wound burning. This study was prove the activity of water pumpkin flesh extract as wound burning in male rats Wistar strain. The method in this research used experimental. This study used 25 male rats Wistar strain divided into 5 groups. The positive control group was given bioplacenton, the negative control group was given CMC-Na base gel, the other group was given water pumpkin gel extract at doses 2.5%, 5% and 7.5%. compount of water pumpkin extract are flavonoid and saponin. This compount have activity as a burn medicine in male rats wistar strain. At activity level 2.5% has activity 40,06%, at dose 5% has activity 49,75%, and at dose 7.5% has activity 60,11%. Water pumpkin gel extract at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% dose had different activity with negative control group with CMC-Na gel base, but no significant difference (sig 0,05) 25%, 50%, 75%.Keyword : Healing burn medicine, Water Pumpkin, and male rats wistar strain.

Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl. consists of all essential elements that are required for good and normal human health. Post harvest losses occur due to lack of proper packaging material, microbial spoilage, and improper handling during transport. Thus, this study deals with viability, sensory evaluation, antioxidant enzymatic activities of L. siceraria fruits by the treatment of a combination of calcium chloride and gallic acid (abbreviated as CG) for 21 days storage at room temperature. The solutions were prepared by the addition of CG in equal amount with different concentrations: 1:1 μM, 2:2 μM, 3:3 μM, and 4:4 μM. The untreated L. siceraria fruits survived for 14 days. However, all the coated L. siceraria fruits could sustain for 21 days, and the combination of 2:2 μM CG was superior in all aspects. The combination of calcium chloride and gallic acid showed beneficial effects by delaying the ripening process.

The watermelons are valuable vegetables. The research aim has been to establish of the technological stages for producing of Dutch and Romanian scion and rootstock seedlings from Citrullus lanatus, Cucumis metuliferus, Benicasa hispida and Lagenaria siceraria, to obtain some compatible phenotypes to grafting. The experience was carried out on a cultivars collection consisting from a Dutch watermelon scion (Baronesa F1 hybrid, Sugar baby type), two Romanian rootstocks (Kiwano and Zefir) and a Dutch rootstock (Pelops F1 hybrid). The scion and rootstock diameters have been correlated for manual grafting, cutting with a cotyledonous leaf and method by splice in silicone clip. The technological stages for obtaining of grafted watermelons have been established for the researched genotypes. These genotypic combinations (C. lanatus x C. metuliferus, C. lanatus x B. hispida, C. lanatus x L. siceraria) have been compatible for watermelon grafting in south area of Romania.

Bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] is widely produced in some Asian and African countries as a fresh vegetable as well as for seed consumption. A major use of bottle gourd is for rootstocks in grafted watermelon production. There are several centers where bottle gourd genetic resources are maintained, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) germplasm collection being one of the most important. There is little published information on the relationship between seed morphology and the early establishment of seedlings in bottle gourd. The objective of this study was to determine seed characterization, morphology, and cotyledon shape in 163 Lagenaria spp. accessions and measure any relationship between seed and cotyledon characteristics. In USDA Lagenaria germplasm, it has been determined that the common character in seeds was medium in terms of seed size (53% of accessions), intermediate in seed surface lustre (39% of accessions), brown in seedcoat color (89% of accessions), thin and uniform in seed margin (35% of accessions), and tan in seed margin color (64% of accessions). According to the research results, seed weight ranged from 0.11 g (PI 500820) to 0.36 g (PI 675112), seed length from 13.17 mm (PI 500820) to 23.68 mm (PI 675112), and seed width from 5.86 (PI 500808) to 11.21 mm (PI 491274). Cotyledon length ranged from 5.46 cm (PI 368640) to 2.47 cm (PI 381850). The widest cotyledon was 3.00 cm (PI 534552), and the narrowest was 1.50 cm (PI 381831). Interesting correlations were observed for seed weight with seed length (R2 = 0.259), and cotyledon length with cotyledon width (R2 = 0.547).

The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and acute toxicity of the methanol extract of two Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. varieties of dried seeds, Sweet gourd Water Jug (WJ) and bitter gourd Basket Ball (BB). The seed extracts were tested for their total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and scavenging activity to the stable free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Both dried seed extracts were then tested for acute toxicity at doses 2 and 5 g kg-1 each. Sixty female and male rats were assigned into five groups per sex. Four groups were given low and high doses of each dried seed extract and the fifth group was given 10 % Tween 20 as a control. Kidneys and livers of all rats were assessed for biochemistry and histopathology. The seed extract of WJ revealed higher TPC, FRAP and DPPH activities compared to BB seeds, while TFC results were reversed. Toxicologically, no toxicity signs were recorded in animals. Biochemistry results were within the normal ranges with a slight increase in bilirubin and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and histology of kidneys and livers showed normal architecture. In conclusion, WJ and BB dried seed extracts exhibited high antioxidant activity suggesting promising therapeutic regimen against oxidative stress.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an important food, medicinal, and utilitarian crop with a large pan-tropical distribution. Two morphologically different types in the siceraria subspecies are sufficiently different to be considered as varieties, but they are assigned into different taxonomic ranks. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of 95 different accessions from the Nangui Abrogoua University collection was used to confirm the varietal status in bottle gourd. This analysis produced 22 575 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cluster analyses conducted with 2250 (9.96%) SNPs distinctly separated hard-shelled from soft-shelled types. Analysis of 23 SNPs located in 11 genes coding for traits that differentiate the two types of gourds revealed that genes in the soft-shelled types had about 21% fewer SNPs than genes within hard-shelled gourds, but the latter had more non-synonymous SNPs. Cluster analyses conducted with the 23 SNPs fitted well with the structure defined by the 2250 SNPs, suggesting the implication of these SNPs in the varietal differentiation of bottle gourd. These nucleotide changes along with the genetic relationships between the accessions provide molecular proof supporting the status of two varieties. To prevent the confusion inherent in the use of synonyms and homonyms in bottle gourd, we suggest the terms hard-shelled and soft-shelled to designate, respectively, the varieties used as utensils and those grown for their edible seeds.

Gene action and their relative contribution in expression of characters is of great importance. Twenty one F1 hybrids were obtained by partial diallel crosses between seven parents to determine the nature of gene action and their relative contribution in expression of characters. Significant values of dominance components Ĥ1 and Ĥ2 for all the traits (except fruit weight for Ĥ2), along with significant values of additive components for number of fruits per plant, T.S.S. and ascorbic acid indicated the importance of both additive and dominance gene action in expression of these characters. However, additive ( ) component was lower in magnitude than dominance components of genetic variation for all the characters which revealed preponderance of dominance component of variance in the expression of fruit yield and its attributes. The average degree of dominance (Ĥ1 / )1/2 involve in the gene action was found as over dominance for all the traits. This suggested that heterosis breeding might be advantageous for improvement of yield and its component traits in bottle gourd. Proportion of genes (Ĥ2/4Ĥ1) in the parents were less than 0.25 for all the traits which showed asymmetrical distribution of loci showing dominance in the inheritance of these characters. The ratio of (4 Ĥ1)1/2 + / (4 Ĥ1)1/2- indicated the excess of dominant genes among the parental strains for most of the characters. The ratio of ĥ2/Ĥ2, provides information about groups of gene exhibiting that minor genes mainly governed the characters except days to first pistillate flower anthesis, node number to first staminate flower anthesis, days to first fruit harvest and fruit weight under study, which may be due to concealing effects of dominant gene with positive and negative effects.