Abstract

MOMORDICA CHARANTIA (KARELA); AN ANTIDIABETIC

*Dr. Dipesh Raj Panday
, Prof. Dr. GP Rauniar, MD. Dr. Karishm Rajbhandari Panday

ABSTRACT

Background: Herbal remedies have attracted and served mankind from the time immemorial. Momordica charantia, a familiar name from Ethno- botany, is an excellent representative of herbal remedy in alternative and complementary medicines. Indigenous to Asia and South America, it is commonly consumed as vegetable but is best remarked for its popular use in folk medicine as antidiabetic. The current paper is aimed at providing a review on clinical and experimental studies on medicinal values of Momordica charantia with special focus on its antidiabetic effect. Methods: The authors reviewed the available data regarding medicinal activities of Momordica charantia both in human and non-human subjects searching the Google, HINARI, PubMed and Google Scholar for articles published in English with the following key words: ‗Momordica‘, ‗Momordica charantia‘, ‗bitter melon‘, ‗bitter gourd‘, ‗Karela‘, ‗medicinal uses‘ and ‗antidiabetic‘. Results: Phytochemically, it contains a mixture of steroidal saponins, phenols, flavonoids, isoflavones, terpenes, anthroquinones, glucosinolates etc. possessing hypoglycemic, antioxidant, free radical scavenging, antiinflammatory, anti-mutagenic, antimicrobial and many other properties. Medical literature has consistently supported these therapeutic potentials. Among the various medicinal properties, antidiabetic property is of utmost importance. Conclusion: Diabetes Mellitus is a growing global metabolic epidemic. Its use in Diabetes Mellitus is common and old but in lack of adequate better controlled human trials, we are still far from recommending it as a routine antidiabetic herbal food.

Keywords: Antidiabetic, herbal remedy, Karela, Momordica charantia.