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| Latin Name |
English Names |
Sanskrit Names |
Hindi Names |
Momordica
charantia Linn. (Cucurbitaceae )
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Bitter Gourd,
Carilla Fruit |
Karavella,
Kathilla,
Sushavi |
Karela, Kareli |
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| Habitat |
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It grows throughout
India, and is often cultivated, up to an altitude of 1,500 m.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
M.charantia,
is a monoecious climber. The stem is slender, more or less pubescent;
the leaves are suborbicular, 5-7 lobed, hairy; the flowers are
yellow and solitary; the fruits are pendulous, fusiform, beaked
and ribbed with numerous tubercles; the seeds are brownish,
compressed and embedded in red pulp.
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| Principal
Constituents |
The fruits and leaves
of the plant contain two alkaloids, one of them being momordicine.
The plant is reported to contain a glucoside, a saponin-like substance,
a resin with an unpleasant taste, an aromatic volatile oil and a mucilage.
The seeds contain an alkaloid (m.p. 236°) and an anthelmintic
principle in the germ; they also contain urease1.
The fruit contains ascorbigen, a bound form of ascorbic acid released
by heating with water in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
Large sized fruits, borne by certain types of M. charantia,
are richer in ascorbigen than small fruits borne by other cultivated
types 2.
The free amino acids present in the fruit are: aspartic acid, serine,
glutamic acid, threonine, alanine, g-amino butyric acid and pipecolic
acid. The green fruit contains luteolin. Carotene is the principal
pigment of carpels, while lycopene characterizes the red aril3.
The fruits and seeds of M.charantia yielded a polypeptide (mp
240°), viz. p-Insulin, which was considered to be similar to bovine
insulin4.
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| Pharmacology |
Oral administration
of fresh fruit juice (dose, 6 c.c./kg. body wt.) lowered the blood
sugar level in normal and alloxan-diabetic rabbits. Oral administration
of alcoholic extracts of the plant to some diabetic patients did not
produce any hypoglycaemic action5.
p-Insulin, a polypeptide from the fruits and seeds rapidly decreased
and normalized the blood sugar level in rats4.
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| Clinical
Studies |
p-Insulin
was tested in a controlled clinical trial. In juvenile diabetics,
the peak hypoglycemic effect was observed after 1-8 hrs; in patients
with maturity onset diabetes, maximum fall in blood sugar level was
noted after 12 hrs4.
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| Toxicity |
The juice appears
to be also abortifacient. However, the possibility of separating a
non-toxic hypoglycemic factor cannot be ruled out.
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| Indications |
The fruits have long
been used in India as a folk remedy for diabetes mellitus. Lectins
from bitter gourd have shown significant antilipolytic and lipogenic
activities.
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