Bottle gourd is a fast growing, annual climber (vine) that requires adequate sunlight for flowering and fruiting. It can be grown in a wide range of soils and need trellis support for a spread.

• Bottle gourd is one of the lowest calorie vegetables- carrying just 14 calories per 100 g. It is one of the vegetables recommended by the dieticians in weight-control programs.

• Fresh gourds contain small quantities of folates, contain about 6 µg/100g (Provide just 1.5% of RDA). Folate helps reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in the newborns when taken by anticipant mothers during their early months of pregnancy.

• Fresh calabash gourd is a modest source of vitamin-C (100 g of raw fruit provides 10 mg or about 17% of RDA). Vitamin-C is one of the powerful natural antioxidants that help the human body scavenge harmful free radicals, which otherwise, labeled as one of the reasons for cancer development.

• Calabash facilitates easy digestion and movement of food through the bowel until it is excreted from the body. Thus, it helps in relieving indigestion and constipation problems.

• Aslo, the vegetable is also a modest source of thiamin, niacin (vitamin B-3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, manganese and magnesium.

• Bottle gourd tender leaves and tendrils are also edible and indeed contain higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals than its fruit.