Ethnobotanical and general use
Fruit. The fruit is edible and mainly used in the local cuisine. The fruits have an agreable soursweet taste. They can be eaten raw, but are mostly used in the preparation of sweet with syrup and to add flavour to cooked meals with legumes or meat and to salads.

Chemical contents
BROWN et al. (1969) used paper chromatography of flavonoids to identify species of Cucumis and came to the conclusion that the 5 species studied (C. anguria, C. ficifolius, C. metuliferus, C. sativus and C. zeyheri) belonged to the same group, although they are morphological distinguished. Only the chemical contents of the cotyledons of Cucumis anguria were identified (STAUB et al. 1987) (see also BERNAL & CORREA 1991).

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Uses: pneumonia.                                                 

Origin: Angola, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Malawi, Mexico, Mozanbique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, USA, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.       

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Fruit: In French Guiana, the juice is mixed with oil and applied on contusions.

Origin: Plant introduced from tropical Africa to French Guiana.

1) South American medicinal plants : botany, remedial properties, and general use / I. Roth, H. Lindorf. Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2002. -- p. 492.

2) Geraldini , Isanete, Journal of Ethnopharmacology v. 173, 2015 . -- p. 383-423

3) Robertt, A., et al.. Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana)/Smithsonian NMNH. cited online: 17-08-2017.