Cucumber is a fruit that is as popular as the Football legend Ronaldo. It is widely consumed everyday as a direct food or in combination with other vegetables, as can be seen in salads.

This vine has numerous uses to humanity and invariably remains invaluable to humanity.
Undoubtedly, the phrase “you are what you eat” has some merit to it: the better you eat, the better you look and feel.

Additionally, eating healthy and nutritious foods boosts immune responses and helps fight infections as well as free radicals. With so many nutritional requirements to take into account, finding the right natural food sources to meet our body’s needs can seem like a daunting task.

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Am going to take us through a gentle ride on the health benefits as well as some other benefits which cut across COSMETICS

Here is a brief introduction to CUCUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF CUCUMBER

Cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. The botanical name is Cucumis sativus. It belongs to the same family as zucchini, watermelon, pumpkin, and other types of summer squash. Cucumbers are a relatively low-calorie food. The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils. The plant may also root in a soilless medium and will sprawl along the ground if it does not have supports. The vine has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruits.

VARIETIES OF CUCUMBER

There are three main varieties of cucumber:

slicing, pickling, and burpless.

Slicing

Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers.

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Pickling

Pickling with brine, sugar, vinegar, and spices creates various, flavored products from cucumbers

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BURPLESS
Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber, and are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 2 feet (0.61 m).

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PHYTOCHEMICAL, MINERAL AND VITAMIN COMPOSITION OF CUCUMBER.

The flesh cucumbers is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and folic acid, while the hard skin is rich in fiber and a range of minerals including magnesium, molybdenum, and potassium.

Additionally, cucumber contains silica, a trace mineral that contributes greatly to strengthening our connective tissues. They contain high levels of lignans, vitamin K, cucurbitacins and their derivatives (triterpenoids), flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, and kaempferol), antioxidants such as beta carotene and vitamin C, among other trace elements and minerals.

APPLICATIONS OF CUCUMBER IN COSMETICS

Due to its richness in pytochemicals, minerals and vitamins, cucumber has found application in different fields of endeavour, including cosmetics, medicine etc. Here are some of the applications of cucumber

FIRSTLY IN COSMETICS :

• Role In Aging Process

Stress is a threat that is commonly recognized to have a deleterious effect on our health and well-being. Chronic stress resulting from environmental sources or cultural stress can lead to,cell-deteriorating processes such as inflammation and oxidative stress.

The result of these processes is an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and compromised cellular integrity, as ROS-compromised membranes weaken and allow vital, hydrating intracellular water (ICW) to evacuate into the extracellular matrix.

Addressing water loss and inflammation with cucumber consumption could be an effective way to lower stress and fight against the aging process. Hence, the cosmetics industry is utilizing cucumber in production of creams which provides skin, eye and hair care

• Eye Treatment

The high water content helps to hydrate tender skin in the eye region, while the chill of a refrigerated cucumber helps contract blood vessels in the area–both effects combine to reduce swelling. also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling–these acids prevent water retention, which may explain why cucumbers applied topically are often helpful for swollen eyes, burns and dermatitis.

• Cucumber Seed Oil AS A MOSTURIZER

Cucumber Seed Oil is cold pressed from the cleaned and dried seeds of premium quality cucumbers. It is then carefully filtered to obtain a brilliant, clear yellow oil with a mild, fresh cucumber aroma. Cucumber Seed Oil contains about 14-20% oleic acid and about 60-68% omega-3 linoleic acid, making it an excellent choice for use in moisturizing formulations for the skin and hair care.

ROLE IN MEDICINE

• Prevents Constipation & Kidney Stones

Cucumbers are a perfect blend of both fiber and water. Therefore, they help to protect your body from constipation and kidney stones. Reports say that a majority of Americans prefer to have a cucumber rich salad regularly as it is a great way to increase the fiber intake

• Manage Diabetes

Cucumbers have been used for diabetic patients for many years. They possess a hormone required by the beta cells during insulin production. The glycemic index (GI) of cucumbers is actually zero.

The presence of carbohydrates and their result on the body is measured by the quantity of glycemic index. Every food item contains essential nutrients in different percentages.

The carbohydrates contribute to raising the glucose level, however, the ones present in the cucumber can be easily digested by diabetic patients. Thus, consumption of this cool fruit keeps the glucose level in check. Nowadays, most commercial stores have cucumber supplements as spiny sea cucumber extract powder, which is very effective in combating the effects of diabetes.

CONCLUSION

Cucumbers are literally one of the most versatile fruits as it can be used topically, internally and also for mood stability when modulating stress.

In addition to its soothing properties and digestive benefits, cucumbers fortify cells so they may retain hydrated and work at the highest levels, and may slow age-related cellular deteriorations.

These properties of cucumber is harnessed in its use in production of health-care products for hair, eye and skin treatments. Because of its known therapeutic value, more study on cucumber is warranted, which will likely open even more scientific avenues of study and discussion.

Thank you for your time

REFERENCES

Abu-Reidah, I., Arráez-Román, D., Quirantes-Piné, R., Fernández-Arroyo, S., Segura-Carretero, A. and Fernández-Gutiérrez, A. (2012). HPLC–ESI-Q-TOF-MS for a comprehensive characterization of bioactive phenolic compounds in cucumber whole fruit extract. Food Research International. 46:108-117.

Huang, S., Li, R. and Zhang, Z. (2009). "The genome of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L". Nature Genetics. 41 (12): 1275–1281.

Schieberle, P., Ofner, S. and Grosch, W. (1990). "Evaluation of Potent Odorants in Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and Muskmelons (Cucumis melo) by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis". Journal of Food Science. 55: 193.

Shang, Y., Ma, Y. and Zhou, Y. (2014). "Plant science. Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber". Science. 346 (6213): 1084–8.

Murad, H. and Tabibian, M. (2001). The effect of an oral supplement containing glucosamine, aminoacids, mineral, and antioxidants on cutaneous aging. J Dermatol Treat. 12:47-51.

Rios, J.L., Recio, M.C. and Escandell, J.M. (2009). Inhibition of transcription factors by plant-derived compounds and their implications in inflammation and cancer. Curr Pharm Des. 15(11):1212-37.

Katiyar, S., Saify, K., Singh, S. and Rai, M. (2014). Botanical study of skin lightening agents. International Journal of Pharmacognosy. 1(4): 243-249.