Bitter melon belongs to the genus Cucurbitaceae of annual trailing plants, due to the fruit surface with peculiar tumour wrinkles, the fruit contains Momordicosides, and has a particular bitter taste and name. Bitter melon is native to eastern India, warm and heat resistant, adaptable and widely grown throughout China. In recent years, it is found that bitter melon is not only nutritious but also has a high medicinal value, and the development and use of bitter melon products are becoming more widely appreciated.

Nutritional Values

Bitter melon is rich in nutrients. According to nutritional analysis data, each 100 g of fresh pulp contains VA 0.08 mg, VB1 0.07 mg, VB2 0.04 mg, VC 84 mg, niacin 0.3 mg, protein 0.9 g, fat 0.2 g, carbohydrates 3.2 g, inorganic salts 0.6 g, calcium 18 mg, phosphorus 29 mg, iron 0.6 mg, crude fibre 1.1 g and calories 75.3 kJ. 75.3 kJ, of which the content of VB1 is highest in melons; the content of ascorbic acid is more pronounced in melons, 14 times in cucumbers, 7 times in tomatoes, 5 times in white gourds. Bitter melon is rich in Momordicoside, Momordicin and contains glutamic acid, alanine, phenylalanine, proline, citrulline, galacturonic acid and pectin. Bitter melon seeds contain a large amount of momordicin. It is reported that the content of various amino acids in bitter melon exceeds that of other melon vegetables, and the nutritional value of bitter melon is higher than that of loofah, cucumber, pumpkin and white gourd.

Medicinal Values

Bitter melon is rich in biologically active compounds that have hypoglycaemic, enzyme activity regulating, and anti-viral effects. At present, scientists have purified and confirmed ingredients such as bitter melon lectin, bitter melonin, ribosome inactivation protein, bitter melon glycosides, carotenoids, sterols, MAP 30 proteins and P-proteins. Bitter melon has hypoglycaemic, antiviral, antifertility, antibacterial, antimutagenic and immunoregulatory effects.

1. Hypoglycaemic Effect

Indian doctors have found that bitter melon contains a type of insulin-like substance called "polypeptide-P", which is as effective as insulin in treating and preventing diabetes. Studies have shown that bitter melon can not only significantly reduce blood glucose levels after fasting, but also significantly reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the liver. The hypoglycaemic effect of extracts from different parts of bitter melon varies, and the hypoglycaemic effect on insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is also different. Among them, the hypoglycaemic effect of bitter melon pericarp extract is more pronounced, which can reduce postprandial blood glucose by 36%.

A protein called P-protein has been extracted from bitter melon fruit and seeds and found to inhibit lipolysis and promote fat synthesis from glucose in rats. All this evidence suggests that one of the mechanisms by which bitter melon extract lowers blood glucose may be the synthesis of blood glucose into glycogen for storage, while the other mechanism may be the reduction of glucose synthesis in the body by inhibiting key enzymes of glucose synthesis, and the enhancement of glucose oxidation by activating enzymes of the oxidative metabolism pathway of carbohydrates.

The "plant insulin" extracted from bitter melon has a very clear hypoglycaemic effect and its use is not limited by the route of administration.

2. Antiviral Effect

American scientists have found three types of physiologically active proteins in bitter melon, namely α-bitter melonin, β-bitter melonin and MAP30, which can prevent the synthesis of HIV DNA and inhibit HIV infection and growth. MAP 30, a novel protein purified from bitter melon fruit and seeds, has anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) properties. The bitter melon extract inhibits the surface activity of HIV and selectively kills HIV-infected lymphocytes and macrophages.

The scientists also obtained a protein from ripe bitter melon fruits and seeds with a similar structure to MAP30, called MRK29. Unlike MAP30, MRK29 has an immune cell-regulating effect that can increase the activity of tumour necrosis factor by three times.

3. Antibacterial Effect

Bitter melon has a good effect on bacteria and some yeasts to inhibit their growth, and the inhibitory concentration is low, the pH value has a wide range of effects, and the heat stability is strong. Some proteins in bitter melon can regulate immune function, enhance the activity of TNF cells and NK cells, and inhibit the growth of tumour cells. The bacteriostatic effects of bitter melon extract and its various solvent extracts were investigated using the filter paper diffusion method, and it was found that bitter melon extract had a strong inhibitory effect on bacteria, and its n-hexane extract had a better inhibitory effect on yeasts and moulds.

The nutritional and medicinal values of Bitter Melon Extract has been proven by many researches. KINGHERBS can provide high quality Bitter Melon Extract, please feel free to contact us.