An annual monoecious rough-haired herbaceous plant of the gourd family. The stem is decumbent or climbing with the help of simple tendrils, branched, up to 3 m long. The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped, 3-5-lobed. Flowers unisexual, yellow; stamens are collected in bunches in the axils of leaves, pistils are single, on short legs. The fruit is a false berry (pumpkin). Blooms in May – July.
Distribution . Cucumbers come from India. They are grown throughout Ukraine as a valuable vegetable plant.
Raw. The fruits and seeds of the plant are used for medicinal purposes.
The plant is unofficial .
Chemical composition . Cucumber fruits contain sugars (1.07-2.70%), pectin substances (0.4%), starch (0.1%), fiber (0.7%), organic acids (malic, citric, oxalic), steroidal saponins, cucurbitacins, vitamins (B 3 , B 5 and others), macro- and microelements (potassium — 141 mg %, phosphorus — 42 mg %, magnesium, calcium, chlorine, iron — 0.6 mg %, aluminum — 0, 43%, iodine, fluorine, zinc, manganese, copper, molybdenum and others).
Pharmacological properties and use. Cucumbers have diuretic, choleretic and mild laxative properties, stimulate the appetite, increase the secretion of gastric juice (especially pickled and pickled), promote the assimilation of fats and proteins. Consumption of fresh cucumbers is indicated for diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys, for constipation and intestinal atony, and for obesity. Patients with hypertension, uric acid diathesis and obesity are prescribed cucumber unloading days, which are held once a week. On unloading days, the patient receives only 2 kg of fresh cucumbers. Unloading days should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor. Fresh cucumber juice is drunk for cough and chronic catarrh of the respiratory tract, for pain in the stomach and intestines. Cucumbers are widely used as a phytotherapeutic agent in dermatology and cosmetics. Cucumber creams, lotions, masks, powder or just fresh juice have a whitening, refreshing and toning effect on the skin of the face. Cucumber juice removes freckles (pigment spots are lubricated – 2-3 times a day).
Medicinal forms and applications. Internally – fresh cucumber juice 2-3 tablespoons 2 times a day, sweetened with honey or sugar;
100 g of cucumber puree on an empty stomach with spastic colitis.
Externally – a face mask for dry skin and wrinkles: rub a fresh cucumber on a fine grater, add a few drops of lemon juice and apply the resulting paste to the face and neck, and after 20 minutes remove it with a towel, without resorting to washing the face with water;
face mask for excessively oily skin: rub fresh cucumbers and apples on a fine grater, mix in equal amounts and apply the resulting mixture to the face, and wash it off with warm water after 20 minutes;
face lotion for excessively oily skin: 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh cucumbers are infused for 4 hours in 2 cups of boiling water and used for washing and lotions for acne, freckles, skin rashes, etc.;
a mixture of fresh cucumber juice with crushed cucumber seeds and rice flour is dried in the sun, rubbed and the resulting powder is powdered on the face at night.
Fresh cucumbers are contraindicated in acute and chronic nephritis (in the exacerbation stage), chronic kidney failure, kidney stone disease, and pyelocystitis with an alkaline reaction of urine. Limit the use of fresh cucumbers in exacerbation of gastric and duodenal ulcers, acute and chronic gastritis with normal and increased secretion of gastric juice, exacerbation of gastritis with reduced secretion of juice, acute and chronic enteritis, enterocolitis and colitis. Pickled and pickled cucumbers are contraindicated in acute hepatitis and cholecystitis, exacerbation of chronic hepatitis, cholecystitis and gallstone disease, in acute and exacerbation of chronic inflammatory processes of the stomach and large intestine, and in hypertensive disease,