Phytochemical and Pharmacological Activities of Cucumis sativus: An Updated Review
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Due to the rising demand for cost-effective herbal medicines as alternatives to expensive synthetic drugs, investigations into the pharmacological properties of medicinal plants have witnessed a remarkable surge. Cucumis sativus, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, is a popular vegetable crop that possesses a wealth of phytoconstituents linked to various therapeutic applications. Accordingly, this review explores the recent phytochemical and pharmacological information on Cucumis sativus aimed at providing an updated template for its possible development as a therapeutic agent for various disorders. In this study, several databases were searched to ascertain the active compounds in Cucumis sativus and to identify the reported pharmacological activities in In-vitro and In-vivo studies. Findings from this review highlight the diverse pharmacological actions of Cucumis sativus, including anti-microbial, anti-cancer, cytotoxic, wound healing, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, analgesic, and hepatoprotective effects. Also, this study noted a paucity of literature information on the neuroprotective and reproductive activities of Cucumis sativus in experimental models. Altogether, this review provides updated information and highlights the potential of Cucumis sativus for future pharmaceutical investigations and the possible development of drugs that can be useful in the management of various disorders.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Naegele RP, Wehner TC. Genetic resources of cucumber. Genetics and genomics of Cucurbitaceae: Springer; 2017. p. 61-86.
Sotiroudis G, Melliou E, Sotiroudis TG, Chinou I. Chemical analysis, anti-oxidant and antimicrobial activity of three Greek cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cultivars. J. Food Biochem. 2010; 34: 61-78.
Shah P, Dhande S, Joshi Y, Kadam V. A review on Cucumis sativus (Cucumber). Res J. Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2013; 5(2): 49-53.
Xiao W, Wang X, Bie M. Genetic and phylogenetic relationships analysis of the complete chloroplast genome Cucumis sativus to China. Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2019; 4(2): 3900-1.
Mukherjee PK, Nema NK, Maity N, Sarkar BK. Phytochemical and therapeutic potential of cucumber. Fitoterapia. 2013; 84: 227-36.
Zhao Q, Meng Y, Wang P, Qin X, Cheng C, Zhou J, Yu X, Li J, Lou Q, Jahn M, Chen J. Reconstruction of ancestral karyotype illuminates chromosome evolution in the genus Cucumis. Plant J. 2021; 107(4): 1243-59.
Tatlioglu T. Cucumber: Cucumis sativus L. Genetic improvement of vegetable crops: Elsevier; 1993. p. 197-234.
Nwauzoma A, Dappa MS. Ethnobotanical studies of port Harcourt metropolis, Nigeria. Int Sch Res Notices. 2013; 2013.
Kidd DR, Ryan MH, Colmer TD, Simpson RJ. Root growth response of serradella species to aluminium in solution culture and soil. Grass Forage Sci. 2021; 76(1): 57-71.
Wibowo MA, Anita DC. Cucumber Juice Treatment to the Decrease of Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure. Pak J. Med Health Sci. 2021; 15(3): 1137-40.
Agatemor UM-M, Nwodo OFC, Anosike CA. Phytochemical and proximate composition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit from Nsukka, Nigeria. Afr J. Biotechnol. 2018; 17(38): 1215-9.
Abbasi AM, Khan MA, Ahmad M, Zafar M, Khan H, Muhammad N, Sultana S. Medicinal plants used for the treatment of jaundice and hepatitis based on socio-economic documentation. Afr J. Biotechnol. 2009; 8(8): 1643-50.
Komorowska M, Niemiec M, Sikora J, Gródek-Szostak Z, Gurgulu H, Chowaniak M, Atilgan A, Neuberger P. Evaluation of sheep wool as a substrate for hydroponic cucumber cultivation. Agriculture. 2023; 13(3): 554.
Chen S-L, Yu H, Luo H-M, Wu Q, Li C-F, Steinmetz A. Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants: problems, progress, and prospects. Chin. Med. 2016; 11: 1-10.
Mia MJ, Maria SK, Taki SS, Biswas AA. Cucumber disease recognition using machine learning and transfer learning. Bull. Electr. Eng. Inform. 2021; 10(6): 3432-43.
Upadhyay B, Roy S, Kumar A. Traditional uses of medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu district in the Thar Desert, India. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2007; 113(3): 387-99.
Plagányi ÉE, Murphy N, Skewes T, Dutra LX, Dowling N, Fischer M. Development of a data-poor harvest strategy for a sea cucumber fishery. Fish. Res. 2020; 230: 105635.
Enogieru AB, Omoruyi SI, Hiss DC, Ekpo OE. Potential antiparkinsonian agents derived from South African medicinal plants. J. Herb. Med. 2018; 13: 1-7.
Rice C, Rymal K, Chambliss O, Johnson F. Chromatographic and mass spectral analysis of cucurbitacins of three Cucumis sativus cultivars. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1981; 29(1): 194-6.
Kaushik U, Aeri V, Mir SR. Cucurbitacins–an insight into medicinal leads from nature. Phcog Rev. 2015; 9(17): 12.
McNally DJ, Wurms KV, Labbé C, Quideau S, Bélanger RR. Complex C-Glycosyl flavonoid phytoalexins from Cucumis sativus. J. Nat. Prod. 2003; 66(9): 1280-3.
Krauze-Baranowska M, Cisowski W. Flavonoids from some species of the genus Cucumis. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 2001; 29(3): 321-4.
Kapoor L. CRC handbook of Ayurvedic medicinal plants: CRC press; 2018.
Garg VK, Nes WR. Occurrence of Δ5-sterols in plants producing predominantly Δ7-sterols: studies on the sterol compositions of six cucurbitaceae seeds. Phytochemistry. 1986; 25(11): 2591-7.
Biddyanagar C, Chittagong B. Cytotoxicity and antifungal activities of ethanolic and chloroform extracts of Cucumis sativus Linn (Cucurbitaceae) leaves and stems. Res J. Phytochem. 2012; 6(1): 25-30.
Mallik J, Akhter R. Phytochemical screening and In-vitro evaluation of reducing power, cytotoxicity and anti-fungal activities of ethanol extracts of Cucumis sativus. Int. J. Pharm. Biol. Sci. Arch. 2012; 3(3): 555-60.
Sanghamitra VD, Sutar SP, Shintre SS, Abitkar KK, Nagaraja T. In vitro screening of Antifungal activity of Acetone extract of Cucumis sativus var. Hardwickii royle. Int. J. Biol. Res. 2020; 5(1): 36-7.
Al Akeel R, Mateen A, Alharbi KK, Alyousef AA, Al-Mandeel HM, Syed R. Purification and MIC analysis of antimicrobial proteins from Cucumis sativus L. seeds. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018; 18: 1-6.
Akanmu A, Yunus H, Balogun S, Sodipo O, Paul L, Gulani I. Antibacterial Activity of Aqueous and Ethanol Fruit Extracts of Cucumis sativus Linn. Against Selected Microorganisms at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri. Sahel J. Vet. Sci. 2021; 18(2): 17-22.
Tuama AA, Mohammed AA. Phytochemical screening and in vitro antibacterial and anti-cancer activities of the aqueous extract of Cucumis sativus. Saudi J. Biol. Sci. 2019; 26(3): 600-4.
Begum HA, Asad F, Sadiq A, Mulk S, Ali K. Anti-oxidant, antimicrobial activity and phytochemical analysis of the seeds extract of Cucumis sativus Linn. Pure Appl. Biol. 2019; 8(1): 433-41.
John S, Priyadarshini S, Monica S, Sivaraj C, Arumugam P. In vitro anti-oxidant and antimicrobial properties of Cucumis sativus L. peel extracts. Int Res J Pharm. 2018; 9(1): 56-60.
Foong FHN, Mohammad A, Ichwan SJA. Biological properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) extracts. Malaysian J. Anal. Sci. 2015; 19(6): 1218-22.
Swaminathan G, Sundaram RS, Mamatha M, Vaijayanthimala P. Evaluation of in vitro anti-cancer activity of cucumis sativus linn leaves. Int. J. Res. Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2015; 4(2): 224-30.
Muruganantham N, Solomon S, Senthamilselvi M. Anti-cancer activity of Cucumis sativus (cucumber) flowers against human liver cancer. Int J Pharm Clin Res. 2016; 8: 39-41.
Patil MV, Kandhare A, Bhise S. Pharmacological evaluation of ameliorative effect of aqueous extract of Cucumis sativus L. fruit formulation on wound healing in Wistar rats. Chron. Young Sci. 2011; 2(4): 207-.
Pradhan D, Biswasroy P, Singh G, Suri K. Anti-ulcerogenic activity of Ethanolic Extract of Cucumis sativus L. against NSAID (Aspirin) induced Gastric Ulcer in wistar albino rats. J. Res. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. 2023; 2(1): 201-3.
Palanisamy V, Shanmugam S, Balakrishnan S. Gastroprotective activity of Cucumis sativus L. World J. Pharm. Pharm. Sci. 2015; 4(2): 457-64.
Satish Narra SN, Nisha K, Nagesh H. Evaluation of anti-ulcer activity of hydroalcoholic fruit pulp extract of Cucumis sativus. Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Res. 2015; 6(11): 4712-20.
Gill NS, Garg M, Bansal R, Sood S, Muthuraman A, Bali M, Sharma PD. Evaluation of anti-oxidant and anti-ulcer potential of Cucumis sativum L. seed extract in rats. Asian J. Clin. Nutr. 2009; 1(3): 131-8.
Agatemor UM, Nwodo O, Anosike C. Anti-inflammatory activity of Cucumis sativus L. J. Pharm. Res. Int. 2015; 8(2): 1-8.
Nasrin F, Bulbul IJ, Aktar F, Rashid MA. Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of cucumis sativus leaves. Bangladesh Pharm. J. 2015; 18(2): 169-73.
Singh Gill N, Sood S, Muthuraman A, Garg M, Kumar R, Bali M, Dev Sharma P. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of Cucumis sativus seed extract. Lat Am J. Pharm. 2010; 29(6): 927-32.
Trejo-Moreno C, Méndez-Martínez M, Zamilpa A, Jiménez-Ferrer E, Perez-Garcia MD, Medina-Campos ON, Pedraza-Chaverri J, Santana MA, Esquivel-Guadarrama FR, Castillo A, Cervantes-Torres J. Cucumis sativus Aqueous Fraction Inhibits Angiotensin II-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress In Vitro. Nutrients. 2018; 10(3): 276.
Karthiyayini T, Kumar R, Kumar KS, Sahu RK, Roy A. Evaluation of anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effect of Cucumis sativus fruit in streptozotocin-induced-diabetic rats. Biomed. pharmacol. J. 2015; 2(2): 351-5.
Antido JWA, Gatil YLB, Rabajante NAL. Hypoglycemic activity of cucumis sativus extract on alloxan-induced diabetic sprague-dawley rats: A pilot study. Lyceum Philipp. St Cabrini Coll. Allied Med. Res. 2017; 2(2): 12-28.
Saidu AN, Oibiokpa FI, Olukotun IO. Phytochemical screening and hypoglycemic effect of methanolic fruit pulp extract of Cucumis sativus in alloxan induced diabetic rats. J. Med. Plant Res. 2014; 8(39): 1173-8.
Minaiyan M, Zolfaghari B, Kamal A. Effect of hydroalcoholic and buthanolic extract of Cucumis sativus seeds on blood glucose level of normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2011; 14(5): 436–42.
Atta AH, Saad SA, Atta SA, Mouneir SM, Nasr SM, Desouky HM, Shaker HM. Cucumis sativus and Cucurbita maxima extract attenuate diabetes-induced hepatic and pancreatic injury in a rat model. J Physiol Pharmacol. 2020; 71(4).
Sharmin R, Khan MR, Akhtar MA, Alim A, Islam MA, Anisuzzaman AS, Ahmed M. Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of cucumber, white pumpkin and ridge gourd in alloxan induced diabetic rats. J. Sci. Res. 2013; 5(1): 161-70.
Ogbodo EC, Ezeugwunne IP, Analike RA, Ezeodili VK, Egbe JU, Obiorah MO, Aguta UE, Madukwe DU, Nwanko JC, Onah CE, Ugwu MC. Effect of cucumber consumption on plasma creatinine, urea, uric acid and glucose level in apparently healthy students of college of health sciences,
Nnamdi Azikiwe university, Nnewi campus, Anambra state, Nigeria. Int. J. Basic Appl. Innov. Res. 2017; 6(1): 2-9.
Nema NK, Maity N, Sarkar B, Mukherjee PK. Cucumis sativus fruit-potential anti-oxidant, anti-hyaluronidase, and anti-elastase agent. Arch. Dermatol. Res. 2011; 303: 247-52.
Kumar D, Kumar S, Singh J, Vashistha B, Singh N. Free radical scavenging and analgesic activities of Cucumis sativus L. fruit extract. J Young Pharm. 2010; 2(4): 365-8.
Insanu M, Zahra AA, Sabila N, Silviani V, Haniffadli A, Rizaldy D, Fidrianny I. Phytochemical and antioxidant profile: cucumber pulp and leaves extracts. Maced. J. Med. Sci. 2022; 10(A): 616-22.
Yunusa AK, Dandago M, Ibrahim S, Abdullahi N, Rilwan A, Barde A. Total phenolic content and anti-oxidant capacity of different parts of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Acta Univ Cibiniensis, Ser E: Food Technol. 2018; 12(2): 13-20.
Garg C, Singh R, Garg M. In Vitro Screening of Anti-oxidant and Antiaging Potential of Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract. Asian J Pharm Clin Res 2020; 13(5): 187-90.
Akter A, Begh MZ, Islam F, Afroz T, Hossain MS, Faysal M, Rahman MM. Phytochemical screening and evaluation of thrombolytic, analgesic and antidiarrhoeal activity of the leaves of cucumis sativus linn.(cucurbitaceae) of methanolic extracts. J Pharm Sci Res. 2020; 12(3): 448-51.
Siddika M, Hasnat R, Bahar E. Thrombolytic (in vitro) and analgesic (in vivo) effect of methanolic extract of Cucumis sativus. J. Pharm. Innov. 2015; 3(12): 1-7.
Heidari H, Kamalinejad M, Noubarani M, Rahmati M, Jafarian I, Adiban H, Eskandari MR. Protective mechanisms of Cucumis sativus in diabetes-related modelsof oxidative stress and carbonyl stress. BioImpacts. 2016; 6(1): 33-9.
Heidari H, Kamalinejad M, Eskandari M. Hepatoprotective activity of Cucumis sativus against cumene hydroperoxide induced-oxidative stress. Res Pharm Sci. 2012; 7(5): S936.
Gopalakrishnan S, Kalaiarasi T. Hepatoprotective activity of the fruits of Cucumis sativus (L.). Int J. Pharm Sci Rev Res. 2013; 20(2): 229-34.
Dhande S, Dongare P, Shah P, Joshi Y, Kadam V. Antihepatotoxic potential of Cucumis sativus and Pogostemon patchouli against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity. ndo Am. J. Pharm. Res. 2013; 3(11): 9212-21.