More Than Just A Gastroenteritis - Bottle gourd (Lagenaria Siceraria) Toxicity Diagnosed in the Emergency Department

BackgroundBottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is sometimes used in complementary medicine practice for the treatment of chronic ailments. It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. However, there have been reports of toxicity due to consumption of bottle gourd juice leading to severe abdominal upset and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. As emergency physicians we need to be aware of such complementary medicine induced haemorrhagic gastroenteritis as possible etiology of gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Case presentationWe present a case of a 41-year-old gentleman who presented to the emergency department (ED) with multiple episodes of vomiting, hematemesis and diarrhoea after consuming bottle gourd juice. The patient was resuscitated and stabilized with fluids, proton pump inhibitors and antiemetics. He was subsequently admitted to General Medicine ward for further management. He continued to receive symptomatic treatment in the ward and underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) during his hospitalization stay. His symptoms improved and he was discharged stable five days later. ConclusionEarly recognition of this rare presentation of bottle gourd toxicity is important in our local context especially where traditional medicine is widely prevalent nowadays. Treatment is supportive. Public awareness of dangerous effects from the consumption of bitter bottle gourd juice and complementary medicine without proper consultation with practitioner plays a crucial role to prevent further cases. Physicians need to advise patients on the use of traditional medicine and their potential side effects.

Genetic Analysis of Fruit Yield and its Components in Bottle Gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.]

Background: The choice of parents to be incorporated in hybridization is a crucial step for breeders for the improvement of complex quantitative characters, such as fruit yield and its components. It requires extensive and detailed genetic assessment of existing germplasm and newly developed promising lines. The magnitude and type of gene action serves as criteria for selection of parents, which after hybridization are likely to produce the best recombinants for desirable traits. Methods: Forty five bottle gourd genotypes comprising 36 hybrids and 9 parents were evaluated in four different environments. Genetic components of variation were estimated for 12 different characters including fruit yield per plant. Result: The additive as well as dominant components were significant for fruit yield per plant and its components, revealing equal importance of both additive as well as non-additive gene effects. However, fruit yield per plant is under the control of dominance variance. Over dominance type of gene action, considerable degree of gene symmetry over all the loci, excess of dominant alleles in parents and high narrow sense heritability was found for most of the traits studied.

Genome-wide SSR Markers in Bottle Gourd: Development, Characterization, Utilization in Assessment of Genetic Diversity of National Genebank of India and Synteny With Other Related Cucurbits

Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley is an important cultivated crop with its immense importance in pharmaceutical industry and as vegetable. Its seed, root, stem, leaves, flower and fruit are used as an ointment for ailment of various diseases throughout Asia. Despite its worldwide importance,informative co-dominant microsatellite markers in the bottle gourd crop are very restricted, impeding geneticimprovement, cultivar identification and phylogenetic studies. Next generation sequencing has revolutionizedthe approaches for discovery, assessment and validation of molecular markers. We conducted a genome wideanalysis, for developing SSR markers by utilizing restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) data.By performing in silico mining of microsatellite repeat-motifs, we developed 45,066 perfect SSR markers. Ofwhich 203 markers were successfully validated and 101 (49.75%) polymorphic primer pairs were utilized for anin depth genetic diversity and population structure analysis of 96 accessions from the National Genebank ofIndia. Tetranucleotide repeats (∼34.3%) were the most prevalent followed by trinucleotide repeats (∼30.73%),further 21.03%, 9.6% and 4.3% of di-, penta- and hexa- nucleotide repeats in the bottle gourd genome. Syntenyof SSR markers on 11 bottle gourd linkage groups was correlated with the 7 chromosomes of cucumber(93.2%), 12 chromosomes of melon (87.4%) and 11 watermelon (90.8%). The generated SSR markers providea valuable tool for germplasm characterization, genetic linkage map construction, studying synteny, genediscovery and for breeding in bottle gourd and other cucurbits species.

Identification and Validation of a Core Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Marker Set for Genetic Diversity Assessment, Fingerprinting Identification, and Core Collection Development in Bottle Gourd

Germplasm collections are indispensable resources for the mining of important genes and variety improvement. To preserve and utilize germplasm collections in bottle gourd, we identified and validated a highly informative core single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set from 1,100 SNPs. This marker set consisted of 22 uniformly distributed core SNPs with abundant polymorphisms, which were established to have strong representativeness and discriminatory power based on analyses of 206 bottle gourd germplasm collections and a multiparent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population. The core SNP markers were used to assess genetic diversity and population structure, and to fingerprint important accessions, which could provide an optimized procedure for seed authentication. Furthermore, using the core SNP marker set, we developed an accessible core population of 150 accessions that represents 100% of the genetic variation in bottle gourds. This core population will make an important contribution to the preservation and utilization of bottle gourd germplasm collections, cultivar identification, and marker-assisted breeding.

Efficacy of Bottle Gourd Seeds’ Extracts in Chemical Hazard Reduction Secreted as Toxigenic Fungi Metabolites

Bottle gourd seeds are surrounded by innumerable bioactive components of phytochemicals. This work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of bottle gourd extracts as antimicrobial and an-ti-mycotoxigenic against toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins. Polar and nonpolar extracts were made from the seeds. The polar eco-friendly extract was prepared by an ultrasonication-assisted technique utilizing aqueous isopropanol (80%), whereas the non-polar extract was obtained using petroleum ether (40–60). The antioxidant efficacy, total phenolic content, and flavonoid content of the extracts were all measured. The fatty acid profile was measured using GC equipment, and the influence on toxigenic fungus and mycotoxin release was also investigated. The antioxidant efficacy of the polar extract is reflected. The total phenolic values of the oil and polar extract were 15.5 and 267 mg of GAE/g, respectively. The total flavonoid content of the oil was 2.95 mg catechol/g, whereas the isopropyl extract of seeds contained 14.86 mg catechol/g. The polar extract inhibited the DPPH more effectively than oil. When compared to other seed oils, the fatty acid composition differed. The pathogens were distinguished by the MIC and MFC for the polar extract. Three sterols were found in the oil, with a high concentration of B-sitosterols. The oil’s valuable -carotene content and tocopherol content were recorded. When compared to traditional antibiotics, the polar extract has shown promising antimicrobial activity against infections and toxigenic fungi. Bottle gourd extracts, as a non-traditional bioactive source, are viewed as a potentially promising alternative that might contribute to increased food safety, shelf-life, and security.

Genetic Diversity, Pathogenicity and Pseudorecombination of Cucurbit-Infecting Begomoviruses in Malaysia

Cucurbits are important crops in the world. However, leaf curl disease constrains their production. Here, begomovirus diversity and pathogenicity associated with the disease in Malaysia were studied based on 49 begomovirus-detected out of 69 symptomatic plants from seven cucurbit crops in 15 locations during 2016 and 2017. The presence of Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) and Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) were confirmed by virus detection by polymerase chain reaction, viral DNA sequence analysis and specific detection of the viral components. ToLCNDV Malaysian isolates were further distinguished into strains A, B, C and D. Virus co-infection was detected in bitter gourd, bottle gourd and squash. Among them, eight bitter gourd samples were detected without SLCCNV DNA-A. However, one bottle gourd and five squash samples were without ToLCNDV DNA-B. Pseudorecombination of ToLCNDV DNA-A and SLCCNV DNA-B was detected in two bitter gourd samples. The pathogenic viruses and pseudorecombinants were confirmed by agroinoculation. The viral DNA-B influencing on symptomology and host range was also confirmed. The results strengthen the epidemic of cucurbit-infecting begomovirus in Malaysia as well as Southeast Asia. Especially, the natural pseudorecombinant of begomovirus that extends host range and causes severe symptom implies a threat to crops