Bitter Melon Extract Benefits and Information

Scientific Name(S): Momordica charantia L. Family: Cucurbitaceae

Common Name(S): Bitter melon, balsam pear, bitter cucumber, balsam apple, "art pumpkin", cerasee, carilla omdeamor

Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) is a fruit that is sold in many Asian grocery stores. Most commonly found growing in tropical parts fo the world, including Africa, Asia and South America, the bitter melon plant is used for nutritional as well as it medicinal value. While all parts of the plant are used, the fruit of the Bitter Melon is most often used for creating medicinal remedies.

Botany: Bitter melon is an annual plant growing to 6 feet tall. It is cultivated in Asia, Africa, South America, and India and is considered a tropical fruit. The plant has lobed leaves, yellow flowers, and edible (but bitter-tasting), orange-yellow fruit. The unripe fruit is green and is cucumber-shaped with bumps on its surface. The parts used include the fruit, leaves, seeds, and seed oil.

History: Bitter melon has been used as a folk remedy for tumors, asthma, skin infections, GI problems, and hypertension. The plant has been used as a traditional medicine in China, India, Africa, and southeastern US. The plant has been used in the treatment of diabetes symptoms. In the 1980s, the seeds were investigated in China as a potential contraceptive.

Uses of Bitter Melon

• Aids in sugar regulation by suppressing the neural response to sweet taste stimuli
• Useful for those with diabetes mellitus
• Lectins from bitter gourd may possess significant antilipolytic and lipogenic properties
• Useful as an emtic, purgative, and as an anthelmentic, in jaundice, and piles
• Indigestion
• Diabetes

Side Effects of Bitter Melon

Use with caution in hypoglycemic patients. The red arils around bitter melon seeds are toxic to children. The plant is not recommended in pregnant women because it may cause uterine bleeding and contractions or may induce abortion.

Currently, no well-known drug interactions with bitter melon exist.

Common Doses

Toxicology: Bitter melon as an unripe fruit is commonly eaten as a vegetable. Bitter melon extract is said to be nontoxic. The plant is relatively safe at low doses and for a duration of ≤ 4 weeks. There are no published reports of serious effects in adults given the "normal" oral dose of 50 ml. In general, bitter melon has low clinical toxicity, with some possible adverse GI effects.

Because of the plant's ability to reduce blood sugar, some caution is warranted in susceptible patients who may experience hypoglycemia. Two small children experienced hypoglycemic coma resulting from intake of a tea made from the plant. Both recovered upon medical treatment. Another report concerning increased hypoglycemic effect noted an interaction in a 40-year-old diabetic woman between M. charantia (a curry ingredient) and chlorpropamide, which she was taking concurrently for her condition.

The red arils around bitter melon seeds are toxic to children. The juice given to a child in 1 report caused vomiting, diarrhea, and death.

Bitter melon's hepatotoxic effects have been demon­strated in animals, in which enzymes became elevated following plant administration. The momorcharin constituents may induce morphological changes in hepatocytes as well.

The seed constituent, vicine, is a toxin said to induce "favism," an acute condition characterized by headache, fever, abdominal pain, and coma.

Bitter melon is not recommended in pregnant women because of its reproductive system toxicities (see Pharmacology, antifertility section), including induction of uterine bleeding and contractions or abortion induction.

Summary: Bitter melon is an edible tropical fruit used mainly as a traditional medicine in China, India, and Africa. Its effects are well documented in the area of hypoglycemia but also include antimicrobial and antifertility actions. Human studies to substantiate the plant's use as an antidiabetic drug are promising. Its toxicity profile in adults is low but may cause problems in children. Bitter melon use is not recommended in pregnant women.