Luffa as Medicine
Luffa gourds hanging below trellis Aside from sponges, culinary vegetables and seed flour, the luffa also possesses potent medicinal qualities. Modern medicine has studied and applied some of these qualities for use in immunoregulatory medicines (including transplant and skin graft therapy), HIV treatment, antimicrobial applications and cancer treatments. Traditional medicine in Asia and Africa used luffa leaves, vines, flowers, fruits and seeds to treat a wide variety of ailments: as a dewormer, as a wound-healing external application, as an asthma and anti-inflammatory treatment, and as a uterine contraction stimulant. Studies since the 1990's have validated the efficacy of luffa extracts for all of these uses, with extensive evidence for immune-system modulation and wound-healing acceleration, as well as microbe inhibition. Luffa has a high degree of safety when administered orally, even in highly concentrated extracts, although pregnant women should avoid taking luffa, as th...
