Squirting Cucumber, Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Ritch: An Update of Its Chemical and Pharmacological Profile

Abstract

Ecballium elaterium, also known as squirting cucumber, is a plant which is widespread in temperate regions of Europe, Africa and Asia. The plant is considered to be one of the oldest used drugs. In the last decades, E. elaterium has been widely studied as a source of triterpene metabolites named cucurbitacins, often found as glycosylated derivatives, used by the plant as defensive agents. Such metabolites exhibit several biological activities, including cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer. Interestingly, the bioactive properties of E. elaterium extracts have been investigated in dozens of studies, especially by testing the apolar fractions, including the essential oils, extracted from leaves and fruits. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the chemical profile of different parts of the plants (leaves, flowers, and seeds) analyzing the methods used for structure elucidation and identification of single metabolites. The pharmacological studies on the isolated compounds are also reported, to highlight their potential as good candidates for drug discovery.