Ugu Leaves (Fluted Pumpkins): Facts, Health Benefits and Uses

March 6, 2023 Globalinfo247

Ugu leaves popularly known as fluted pumpkin are edible greenish vegetables majorly grown in most West African countries like Nigeria.

However, fluted pumpkin leaves are edible when either boiled or cooked as it still retains it’s minerals and vitamins. Fluted pumpkin (ugu leaves), can also serve as a substitute for salad while slice and added to meals.

It can also be used as juice when mashed as fresh leaves and the extract as the juice. Now, taking this juice on timely basis will greatly provide your body with essential minerals and nutrients.

Although, fluted pumpkin is majorly called ugu in Nigeria, but there are also other native names associated with this edible greenish vegetable. Some of its native names are;

(1) Sokoyokoto – Yoruba
(2) Ugu – Igbo(main name)
(3) Kabewa – Hausa
(4) Ikong-Ubong – Efik

Fluted pumpkins are packed with essential minerals and vital and needed vitamins.

It is highly abundant in calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese also provides a good amount of vitamin C, A, B2, and E.

Below are some health benefits of pumpkin leaves that may be of interest to you.

(1) Dietary Fibre Source

Ugu leaves (fluted pumpkins), are great source of dietary fibre, which makes pumpkin leaves a natural substitute for maintaining the digestive system health.

Now, eating foods that are packed with dietary fibre, is very important as it helps in curbing health conditions like constipation and irritable bowel movement, which are all caused by indigestion problem like ulcers.

So by adding pumpkin leaves to your diet you’re as well reducing the risk of having such health conditions.

Therefore, as a recommendation it is highly expected that you make fluted pumpkin leaves an integral part of your daily meals to gain the immense benefits of the dietary fibre.

Ugu Leaves (Fluted Pumpkins): Facts, Health Benefits and Uses

(2) Helps Maintains the Body Tissues

Fluted pumpkin leaves (ugu leaves), play a major role in maintaining and repairing of body tissues.

This is possible because of it high vitamin content. It can also maintain cells, membranes and also your skin and greatly serve as an essential part of wond healing, due to the presence of vitamin C.

Although, the protein contained in this edible greenish vegetable also can help in maintaining your body tissues, muscles and nervous system.

(3) Antioxidant

Fluted pumpkin leaves are essentially rich in anti-oxidant possessing minerals and compounds like hydrocyanic acid, flavonoids and alkaloids all of which empowers fluted pumpkin leaves to offer some anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits.

According to research it was discovered that foods that are rich in anti-oxidants are very effective in preventing cancer and other health conditions like ulcers.

Now, you should know that these anti-oxidants prevent the immense damage that should have been caused by the oxidative stress.

Cancer and other age related illness are being caused by oxidative stress and can cause great changes in the DNA thereby leading to the formation of cancerous cells.

(4) Helps in Balancing Hormones in the Body

As mentioned in previous paragraphs, fluted pumpkin leaves are greatly empowered with their high protein content. Infact, fluted pumpkin leaves (ugu) contains the needed quantity of protein needed by our body in balancing hormones, tissue repairs and lastly regulating the acidity of organs and cells in your body.

Now, adding pumpkin leaves to your diet is essential as they are high in protein content and also helps in maintaining and improving body cells and replace dead/broken cells in the body.

(5) Anti-Diabetic

Ugu leaves as it is popularly known, acts as an anti-diabetic agent, meaning that it has the ability to treat diabetes by mitigating the level of glucose in your blood.

How is this possible you may ask, aside it’s fairly bitter taste, it also contains polysaccharides and ethyl acetate, this two compounds have been seen to effectively and greatly mitigate the level of glucose in the blood.

They not only reduce the level of glucose but also promote glucose tolerance in your body making you a living anti-diabetic agent, cool right? By adding fluted pumpkin leaves to your diet you stand a chance of enjoying these benefits.

You can make fluted pumpkin leave juice by mashing fresh leaves and the extract squeezed out from the mashed leaves.

Now, you should know that this juice is very beneficial and has a positive effect on your body’s health as it can also regulate the blood glucose level in your body.

(6) Improves Blood Production

Doctors most at times recommend fluted pumpkin leaves for their patients who who suffer from shortage of blood due to an illness.

Now, this is possible due to the presence of iron and other essential minerals in it. It also helps curb/prevent anemia, by boosting of blood in the system.

However, iron is an essential which is needed in our daily meals, as it is very important in red blood cells, as it can boost the production of blood in patients suffering from shortage of blood due to certain deficiencies or illness.

Therefore it is very important you take foods that contains zinc has it plays a major role in our body. You don’t need to suffer from any deficiency eating fluted pumpkin leaves.

For the effectiveness of helping boost blood production, it is recommended to be pounded, then strain the mashed vegetable to collect the liquid/juice. Most times, milk is also added to the juice before drinking.

Eating the leaves or taking the fluted pumpkin leaves juice, which is more effective? Well, taking the juice is more effective and recommended.

How to Make Pumpkin Leave Juice

(1) Get your fresh pumpkin leaves from your small farm or from the market near by.
(2) Wash them thoroughly and remove dirt.
(3) Next, bring in a mortar and pound it, add little water and pound for few minutes.
(4) Pour your pounded pumpkin leaves into a bowl and filter by squeezing the water from the mashed leave into a jug, and there you have it, your pumpkin leave juice.

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