Cucurbita. Cucurbita citrullus.

Synonym—Watermelon.

CONSTITUENTS—

Fixed oil, mucilage, sugar.

PREPARATIONS—

Fluid Extract of Watermelon Seed. Dose, one dram.

Therapy—The juice of the fruit is a diuretic with many individuals, producing a cooling sense of relief from heat or aching across the kidneys, or throughout the urinary apparatus. The seeds in the form of an infusion act promptly with children, relieving pain in the passage of urine and stimulating the flow of water. When male infants cry with every urination and the diaper is stained yellow, this remedy will correct the condition promptly. In those conditions accompanied with a general sense of constriction, or backache from the passage of urates and phosphatic gravel, this remedy exercises a direct soothing influence, not only upon the renal organs, but upon the bladder, especially when the irritation persists, warding off subsequent inflammation. It is also very useful during the active stage of cystitis.

The American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy, 1919, was written by Finley Ellingwood, M.D.
It was scanned by Michael Moore for the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine.