Table 1.

Ethnopharmacological uses of Momordica balsamina

Plant part	Ethnomedicinal uses	Preparation/ method used	Reference
Whole
Plant	As a bitter stomachic		Thakur et al. (2009)
	As a wash for the treatment of fevers and yaws	Infusion
	To stimulate lactation	Maceration
	To relieve intercostal pains	Maceration
	To treat vomiting associated with bile and fever (Africa)		Bandeira et al. (2001)
	As an ingredient in aphrodisiac preparations		Karumi et al. (2003)
	To treat externally malignant ulcers	Pulverization
	To treat stomach and intestinal complaints (South Africa)		Bharathi and John (2013)
	As an anthelminthic (Asia)	Sponge
	To treat skin problems		Karumi et al. (2003), Thakur et al. (2009)
	As tranquilizer to treat mental illness
	To treat liver diseases (South African)		Omokhua-Uyi and Van Staden (2020)
Leaves	To stabilize glycaemia levels in diabetic patients (South Africa)	Decoction	Mokganya and Tshisikhawe (2019)
	To treat burns	Poultice
	To treat malaria (Niger)	Decoction or Infusion	Benoit-Vical et al. (2006)
	As an antibiotic (Nigeria)		Mshelia et al. (2017)
	To treat abdominal pain (Nigeria)	Aqueous extract
	To induce lactation and regenerate the loss of blood during labor (Nigeria)	Cooked	Uchegbu et al. (2015)
	To treat extreme uterine bleeding (Asia)		Bharathi and John (2013)
Root	To induce abortion (India)		Karumi et al. (2003), Bharathi and John (2013
	To treat fever		Van Wyk et al. 2008)
	To treat stomach cramp	Tea
	To treat diarrhea		Thakur et al. (2009)
Fruit	To induce abortion (Nigeria and Ghana)		Karumi et al. (2003)
	As a purgative agent (Senegal)		Thakur et al. (2009)
	Used as vermifuge (Senegal)
	To treat wounds (Nigeria)
	To treat chapped hands, burns and hemorrhoids	Liniment	Mshelia et al. (2017)
	To treat AIDS		Bot et al. (2007)