J Emerg Med
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Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an edible plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. When extremely bitter, ingestion of bottle gourd can cause rapid onset diarrhea, vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding, and hypotension due to release of a substance named cucurbitacin. ⋯ Physicians should be suspicious of cucurbitacin toxicity in patients who present with symptoms within minutes of ingestion of a plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. Patients should be asked if the plant tasted unusually bitter. The most common symptoms include diarrhea and hematemesis. More than half of patients develop hypotension. There is no known antidote for bottle gourd poisoning; treatment is supportive. Proton pump inhibitors should be given to patients with gastrointestinal mucosal injury.