Antidiabetic and Other Responses of Bitter Apple [Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.]

Bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis) is an herbaceous plant that belongs to family Cucurbitaceae that contains abundant nutrients and phytocompounds essential for improving wellbeing. It is indigenous to the sandy arid regions of Arabia, West Asia, Mediterranean basin, and tropical Africa. It is also found in India, Pakistan, Turkey and Nubia and in the western coastal regions of Africa, the Sahara and Egypt. The plant is generally frost-sensitive, intolerant to moist and poorly drained soils but tolerant to drought conditions. C. colocynthis has numerous phytoactive compounds such as cucurbitacin, colocynthosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, fatty acids and essential oils that gives it medicinal properties. Pharmacological studies of C. colocynthis includes antioxidative, antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, antineoplastic, anti-allergic, profibrinolytic, immune-stimulatory and pesticidal activities. It inhibits glucosidase, which is responsible for postprandial hyperglycemia and expresses insulin-enhancing activity, strongly indicating a potential candidate for hyperglycemia treatment. Traditionally C. colocynthis is widely used for the treatment of diabetes, liver problems, joint pain, skin diseases and some gastrointestinal disorders like gastroenteritis, indigestion, constipation, intestinal parasites and obstruction or paralysis of the intestine.