Bitter Melon

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Bitter melon

 

Other Names

Bitter melon is the common name for Momordica charantia.

• African cucumber

• balsam pear

• bitter gourd

Also… Papailla, Melao De Sao Caetano, Bittergourd, Sorosi, A'Jayib Al Maasi, Assorossie, Balsam Apple, Chin Li Chih, Ejinrin Gule Khandan, Fu-Kua, K'U Kua Kurela, Kor-Kuey, Ku Gua, Lai P'U T'Ao, Nd, Pava-Aki,, Salsamino, Sorci, Sorossi, Sorossie, Sorossies, Pare, Peria laut, Peria, Periok

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What Is It?

Widely sold in Asian groceries as a vegetable, bitter melon is employed as a folk remedy primarily for regulating blood sugar in cases of diabetes. The plant is a slender, climbing annual vine. The bitter melon fruit itself is oblong and warty in appearance, and somewhat resembles a small cucumber. The name "Momordica" comes from Latin meaning "to bite," a reference to the jagged edges of the seed. The plant is aptly named, as all parts of the plant including the fruit taste bitter. Yet in Asia, where bitter flavors are enjoyed, bitter melon is popular.

 

Bitter Melon supplements are becoming popular in the U.S., where they are being used for diabetes, HIV and cancer. However, at this point in time, the only substantiated use for bitter melon appears to be blood sugar control. Though bitter melon warrants further investigation into its therapeutic compounds, there is no evidence at this time that bitter melon is therapeutic in cases of HIV infection or cancer.

 

Medicinal History

Among its many uses, bitter melon has been used as a folk remedy for diabetes, colitis and dysentery, intestinal worms, jaundice, and fevers. Current understanding of the phytochemicals in bitter melon suggests that these multiple uses may be well founded. 2,3 

 

Where bitter melon is grown, local people and indigenous tribes add the fruit to vegetable dishes, beans and soup for a bitter or sour flavor. Parboiling the fruit first with a little salt removes some of the bitter flavor.  1  Additionally, the skin may be scraped away, as that area holds the greatest concentration of bitter compounds. 4

 

As a folk remedy, the pureed pulp or juice of fresh bitter melon is sometimes taken. This form is apparently significantly bitter, but the effects of bitter melon are sufficient enough that it is widely used. In Ayurveda, bitter melon is widely prescribed for gout, rheumatism and sub-acute disorders of the liver and spleen. 4

 

Habitat & Cultivation

Bitter melon grows in tropical areas, including East Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and throughout South America, including parts of the Amazon. Propagated by seed, bitter melon vines flower in about 30 days, and produce mature fruits about 20 days after that. Mature fruits of bitter melon attain the size of medium-sized cucumbers. The fruits are then harvested like squash, and are cooked green. For medicinal purposes the fruits may be used fresh as pulp or juice, or dry in powders, or in fluid extracts. 2

 

 

How It Works

Bitter melon is naturally rich in beneficial phytochemicals, The various known therapeutic properties of compounds in the fruit include antibiotic, antimutagenic, antioxidant, antiviral, antidiabetic, and immune-enhancing, properties, among many others. 3 The characteristic bitter flavor of bitter melon is due to some extent to a group of compounds called cucurbitacins. 2

 

Among the constituents in bitter melon, charantin is identified as a primary agent for blood sugar regulation. Charantin demonstrates hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) or other actions of potential benefit in diabetes mellitus. The fruits also contain insulin-like peptides, including one known asd polypeptide P, and alkaloids. It is likely that several subtances in bitter melon contribute to its blood-sugar modifying effects. In human studies, bitter melon demonstrates significant blood sugar control after food intake, and overall blood-sugar lowering effects. 5,6 

 

 

 

Contemporary Uses Approved by Authoritative Bodies

None of the major bodies, including WHO, ESCOP, or Germany’s Commission E, make any recommendations concerning bitter melon one way or another. These bodies have not as yet delved speifically into this botanical.

 

 

Potential Risks

As a widely eaten food, bitter melon is regarded as safe. If taken in excessive amounts it may cause diarrhea and stomach pain, but in supplementary doses this is unlikely.

 

Because bitter melon does exert influence on blood sugar levels, you need to be careful using it if you are on medication to control diabetes. If you are diabetic, you should consult a holistic physician regarding bitter melon. And you should monitor your blood sugar levels if you do use bitter melon, to understand the extent to which it may be modifying your blood sugar.  If you are on any kind of diabetes control medication, do not reduce or eliminate that medication in favor of bitter melon, without the guidance of a physician.   

 

Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established.

 

 

Contraindications – based on conditions and medication intake, etc.

• If you are on medication to control blood sugar, consult a physician before using bitter melon.

 

Potentially harmful drug interactions 

• Bitter melon may act in conjunction with blood sugar lowering medications to reduce blood sugar too much. Consult a physician.

 

Allergy precautions

• None known

 

 

Usage Tips

 

One method of use is to juice one small, green melon or about 50ml (an ounce and a half) to 100 ml (just slightly more than 3 ounces) of fresh juice, divided into  2 or 3 doses over the course of the day. Michael Murray suggests that you should "simply plug your nose and take a 2-ounce shot." 7   Keep in mind that bitter melon is very bitter indeed.

 

Extracts of bitter melon are increasingly available in tablet or capsule form. Follow directions on labels for correct dosage.

 

 

Product Choosing/Buying Tips

Look for any palatable form of bitter melon, such as tablets or capsules. Some products may be standardized to a particular amount of charantin. This will ensure a reproducible dose, which is an especially good thing when you are trying to stabilize blood sugar.

 

 

Science Update

Two proteins in bitter melon, alpha- and beta-momorcharin, inhibit the AIDS virus in vitro (in test tubes). In 1996, scientists performing this research filed a U.S. patent on a novel protein found and extracted from the fruit and seeds of Bitter Melon and which they named "MAP 30," describing the compound as "useful for treating tumors and HIV infections... In treating HIV infections, the protein is administered alone or in conjunction with conventional AIDS therapies." Over the years other scientists have documented other in vitro antimicrobial benefits of Bitter Melon against pathogens including Helicobacter pylori, Epstein-Barr virus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 1

 

 

In rats fed diets supplemented with bitter melon, dietary bitter melon produced a consistent decrease in serum glucose levels. In addition, bitter melon promoted a marked reduction in the hepatic total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the liver. 8

 

In two different studies, the crude extract from the bitter melon (Momordica charantia) exhibited tumor inhibition when injected into mice with tumors. The extract inhibited tumor formation in mice into whom tumor cells had been implanted. These data indicate that bitter melon extract possesses tumor-inhibiting properties. 9

 

 

The fruit and seeds of the bitter melon (Momordica charantia) have been reported to have

anti-leukemic and antiviral activities. This anti-leukemic and antiviral action was associated with an activation of murine lymphocytes. A partially purified protein factor from the bitter melon was injected into mice into which leukemia cells had been implanted. The bitter melon extract demonstrated leukemia-inhibiting properties. This study suggests that at least part of the anti-leukemic activity of the bitter melon extract is due to the activation of immune factors cells in mice. 10

 

 

Controversy

Some people are using bitter melon to mitigate AIDS or to treat cancer. Though the fruit contains anti-viral and tumor-inhibiting compounds, there is no evidence at this time that bitter melon is an effective medicine in humans in either case. 

 

 

Trivia

Bitter melon is the perfect example of a plant which is widely utilized by some people, and completely outside of the taste range of many others. The highly bitter flavor of bitter melon makes it desirable to people of some cultures, especially Asia, and undesirable to people from others. But preferences for flavors migrate from one culture to another. Bitter melon may eventually be more widely embraced by North Americans and Europeans.

 

 

References:

 

1. Raintree Nutrition, section on Bitter melon. Retrieved  May 24, 2002 on the World Wide web.  http://www.rain-tree.com/bitmelon.htm

 

2. Bown, Deni. The Herb Society Of America Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. (1^st ed., (New York: Dorling Kindersley,1995). 312

 

3. Agricultural Research Service, Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical

Databases. http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/

 

4. Nadkarni, A., Dr. K.M. Nadkarni’s Indian Materia Medica.  3 ^rd ed. (Popular Prakashan Bombay, India 1994) 805-807

 

5. Welihinda J., et al Effect of Momordica charantia on the glucose tolerance in maturity onset diabetes. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1986 17, 277-282

 

6. Srivastava, Y., et al: Antidiabetic and adaptogenic properties of Momordica charantia extract: An experimental and clinical evaluation. Phytotherapy Research 1993, 7, 285-289.

 

7. Murray, M., The Healing Power of Herbs 2nd edition. (Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA 1995) 357-358.

 

8. Jayasooriya AP, Sakono M, Yukizaki C, Kawano M, Yamamoto K, Fukuda N Effects of Momordica charantia powder on serum glucose levels and various

lipid parameters in rats fed with cholesterol-free and cholesterol-enriched

diets. J Ethnopharmacol 2000 Sep 72:1-2 331-6

 

9. Jilka C, Strifler B, Fortner GW, Hays EF, Takemoto DJ In vivo antitumor activity of the bitter melon (Momordica

charantia). Cancer Res 1983 Nov 43:11 5151-5

 

10. Cunnick JE, Sakamoto K, Chapes SK, Fortner GW, Takemoto DJ Induction of tumor cytotoxic immune cells using a protein from the bitter melon (Momordica charantia). Cell Immunol 1990 Apr 1 126:2 278-89