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Medical Uses
The fruit of the Caigua contains along with the components showed in the table also a lot of potassium and magnesium. Therefore Caigua can be strongly recommended as nutritional supplement for potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous.

The fruits furthermore contain flavonoid glycosides of which four show an antioxidant effect.

Caigua fruits generally exhibit high antioxidant activity but a low total phenolic content, which indicates that non-phenolic water soluble compounds might be involved. Flavonoids are present in this cyclanthera species, which have antioxidant properties as well and were shown that with a high intake are correlated to a decrease in heart disease.

In addition to the antioxidant activity, the Caigua fruits also have a therapeutic potential in a variety of inflammatory and allergic diseases as well as in cancer therapy.

Dried samples of the Caigua showed α-amylase inhibition which can reduce glucose peaks after meals and therefore are beneficial for diabetic people. The plant also had relevant ACE inhibitory activities, which indicate potential anti-hypertension activity.

A negative aspect of the Caigua is, that the seeds contain a group of trypsin inhibitors. These negatively affect the protein absorption.

Other chemicals in the Caigua include triterpenoid saponins and the seeds have been reported with six cucurbitacin glycosides. as well as 28-30 amino acids.