BIOCHEMICAL PORTRAYAL OF DIFFERENT BITTER GOURD (Momordica charantia L.) CULTIVARS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL

Abstract

In current study, the core objective is to elucidate the nutritional composition and bioactive profile of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) cultivars in relation to their antidiabetic and antihypercholesterolemic effects. For the purpose, six cultivars viz., BG 20, Black King, FSD Long, KHBG-1, GHBG-1 & Noor were procured from Vegetable Research Section, Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad. In first phase, bitter gourd cultivars and their parts (skin, flesh, seeds and whole fruit) were analyzed for biochemical and nutritional aspects. Results showed that bitter gourd cultivars are good source of carbohydrate, protein and minerals. Water extracts exhibited higher polyphenols, flavonoids, DPPH, FRAP, β carotene and ABTS values than methanol. In addition, bitter gourd was found to be rich source of charantin, momordicin I & II, vicine and polypeptide P. Black King was selected, owing to rich chemistry for the development of functional drink and subsequent bioevaluation trial. Efficacy trials were carried containing bitter gourd skin, flesh, seeds and whole fruit powder @ 100 and 300 mg/kg body weight against hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia. In this regard, rats were given normal diet (Study I), high sucrose diet (Study II) and high cholesterol diet (Study III). Bitter gourd supplementation in these studies showed significant reduction in body weight, serum glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides & LDL and marked increase in insulin and HDL level of rats indicating their effectiveness against life style oriented disorders. The whole bitter gourd fruit powder (300 mg/kg BW) performed better results than rest of the treatments. Conclusively, bitter gourd supplementation is effective to attenuate lifestyle related maladies.