Momordica charantia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

1, leafy shoot; 2, male flower in longitudinal section; 3, female flower in longitudinal section; 4, male flower in cross section with petals removed; 5, fruit (P. Verheij-Hayes)

Momordica charantia L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 2: 1009 (1753).

Synonyms

• Momordica indica L. (1754),
• Momordica elegans Salisb. (1796),
• Momordica chinensis Spreng. (1891).

Vernacular names

• Bitter gourd, bitter cucumber, balsam pear (En).
• Bitter melon (Am).
• Margose, paroka (Fr)
• Indonesia: paria (general), pare (Javanese), papari (Moluccas)
• Malaysia: peria, peria laut, periok
• Philippines: ampalaya (Tagalog), paria (Ilocano), palia (Bisaya)
• Cambodia: mreah
• Laos: 'hai1, 'phak 'ha, sai1
• Thailand: mara (general), maha (northern), phakha (north-eastern)
• Vietnam: mư ớp dắng, mư ớp mủ (northern), khổ qua (south).

Distribution

M. charantia was possibly first domesticated in eastern India and southern China. It now has a pantropical distribution, with wild and cultivated populations.

Uses

See under genus treatment for the numerous medicinal uses. The immature fruits are a well-known vegetable. The pulpy arils can be eaten as a sweet. The seed mass of the ripe fruit can be used as a condiment. M. charantia is occasionally planted as an ornamental.

Observations

• A monoecious, annual vine up to 5 m long, stem 5-ridged, tendrils simple.
• Leaf blade broadly ovate to suborbicular or ovate-reniform in outline, 2.5-10 cm × 3-12.5 cm, deeply palmately (3-)5(-9)-lobed, deeply cordate at base, lobes obovate and sinuate-lobulate or sinuate-toothed, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
• Flowers solitary, 2-3.5 cm in diameter, yellow; male flowers on a 0.5-3 cm long peduncle bearing an apical bract of up to 2.2 cm long, pedicel 2-5.5 cm long; female flowers on a 0.2-5 cm long peduncle bearing an apical bract of up to 1.2 cm long, pedicel 1-10 cm long.
• Fruit 3-11(-45) cm × 2-4(-8) cm, irregularly warty, orange, dehiscing.
• Seeds 8-16 mm × 4-10 mm × 2.5-3.5 mm, brown, testa ornamented.

M. charantia is found in lowland rain forest, riverine forest, thickets, hedges, waste places and roadsides and may be locally abundant.

Selected sources

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• [97] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
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• [170] Bolognesi, A., Tazzari, P.L., Olivieri, F., Polito, L., Lemoli, R., Terenzi, A., Pasqualucci, L., Falini, B. & Stirpe, F., 1998. Evaluation of immunotoxins containing single-chain ribosome-inactivating proteins and an anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody (OM124): in vitro and in vivo studies. British Journal of Haematology 101(1): 179-188.
• [176] Bourinbaiar, A.S. & Lee-Huang, S., 1995. The activity of plant-derived antiretroviral proteins MAP30 and GAP31 against Herpes simplex virus infection in vitro. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 219(3): 923-929.
• [177] Bourinbaiar, A.S. & Lee-Huang, S., 1995. Potentiation of anti-HIV activity of anti-inflammatory drugs, dexamethasone and indomethacin, by MAP30, the antiviral agent from bitter melon. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (March 17)
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• [287] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
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• [340] del Rosario, C.E.S. & Molato, A.P., 1994. Evaluation of plant extracts as fungicidal material against major fungal diseases of root crop. Integrated pest management: learning from experience. Pest Management Council of the Philippines (PMCP), College, Laguna, the Philippines.
• [470] Garcia Jr., J.R., 1990. Bioassay of five botanical materials against the bean weevil, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.), on mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). University of the Philippines at Los Baños, College, Laguna, the Philippines. 67 pp.
• [498] Gouriath, A. & Manoharachary, C., 1989. Effect of pollen on four pathogenic fungi. Indian Phytopathology 41(1): 120-122.
• [515] Guevara, A.P., Lim-Sylianco, C., Dayrit, F. & Finch, P., 1990. Antimutagens from Momordica charantia. Mutation Research 230(2): 121-126.
• [563] Hayashi, K., Takehisa, T., Hamato, N., Takano, R., Hara, S., Miyata, T. & Kato, H., 1994. Inhibition of serine proteases of the blood coagulation system by squash family protease inhibitors. Journal of Biochemistry 116(5): 1013-1018.
• [680] Jilka, C., Strifler, B., Fortner, G.W., Hays, E.F. & Takemoto, D.J., 1983. In vivo antitumor activity of the bitter melon (Momordica charantia). Cancer Research 43(11): 5151-5155.
• [707] Karunanayake, E.H., Welihinda, J., Sirimanne, S.R. & Sinnadorai, G., 1984. Oral hypoglycaemic activity of some medicinal plants of Sri Lanka. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 11(2): 223-231.
• [721] Keraudren-Aymonin, M., 1975. Cucurbitacées [Cucurbitaceae]. In: Vidal, J.E. & Galibert, Y. (Editors): Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. Vol. 15. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 123 pp.
• [808] Lal, J., Chandra, S., Raviprakash, V. & Sabir, M., 1976. In vitro anthelmintic action of some indigenous medicinal plants on Ascardia galli worms. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 20(2): 64-68.
• [830] Leamon, C.P. & Low, P.S., 1994. Selective targeting of malignant cells with cytotoxin-folate conjugates. Journal of Drug Target 2(2): 101-112.
• [835] Lee-Huang, S., Huang, P.L., Chen, H.C., Huang, P.L., Bourinbaiar, A.S., Huang, H.I. & Kung, H.F., 1995. Anti-HIV and anti-tumor activities of recombinant MAP30 from bitter melon. Gene 161(2): 151-156.
• [836] Lee-Huang, S., Huang, P.L., Huang, P.L., Bourinbaiar, A.S., Chen, H.C. & Kung, H.F., 1995. Inhibition of the integrase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 by anti-HIV plant proteins MAP30 and GAP31. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 92(19): 8818-8822.
• [847] Lewis, W.H. & Elwin-Lewis, M.P.F., 1977. Medical Botany. Plants affecting man's health. John Wiley & Sons, New York, United States. 515 pp.
• [886] Mahmood, I., Masood, A., Saxena, S.K. & Husain, S.I., 1979. Effect of some plant extracts on the mortality of Meloidogyne incognita and Rotylenchulus reniformis. Acta Botanica Indica 7(2): 129-132.
• [946] Micu Jr., E.D., 1985. The potential use of ampalaya (Momordica charantia Linn.), malunggay (Moringa oleifera Lam.), and kolasiman (Portulaca oleracea Linn.) extracts in the prevention of piglet anemia. Thesis, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, College, Laguna, the Philippines. 56 pp.
• [1024] Ng, T.B., Chan, W.Y. & Yeung, H.W., 1992. Proteins with abortifacient ribosome inactivating immunomodulatory antitumor and anti-AIDS activities from Cucurbitaceae plants. General Pharmacology 23(4): 575-590.
• [1027] Ng, T.B., Liu, W.K., Tsao, S.W. & Yeung, H.W., 1994. Effect of trochocanthin and momorcharins on isolated rat hepatocyts. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 43(2): 81-87.
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• [1128] Pételot, A., 1952-1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [The medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. 4 volumes. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam.
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• [1143] Platel, K. & Srinivasan, K., 1995. Effect of dietary intake of freeze dried bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Nahrung 39(4): 262-268.
• [1144] Platel, K. & Srinivasan, K., 1997. Plant foods in the management of Diabetes mellitus: vegetables as potential hypoglycaemic agents. Nahrung 41(2): 68-74.
• [1153] Porro, G., Bolognesi, A., Caretto, P., Cromo, G., Lento, P., Mistza, G., Sciumbata, T., Stirpe, F. & Modena, D., 1993. In vitro and in vivo properties of an anti-CD5-momordin immunotoxin on normal and neoplastic T lymphocytes. Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy 36(5): 346-350.
• [1164] Pu, Z., Lu, B.Y., Liu, W.Y. & Jin, S.W., 1996. Characterization of the enzymatic mechanism of gamma-momorcharin, a novel ribosome-inactivating protein with lower molecular weight of 11 500 purified from the seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 229(1): 287-294.
• [1178] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [1196] Ramos Ruiz, A.R., De la Torre, R.A., Alonso, N., Villaescusa, A., Betancourt, J. & Vizoso, A., 1996. Screening of medicinal plants for induction of somatic segregation activity in Aspergillus nidulans. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 52(3): 123-127.
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• [1341] Shubhashish Sarkar, Maddali Pranava & Marita, A.R., 1996. Demonstration of the hypoglycemic action of Momordica charantia in a validated animal model of diabetes. Pharmacological Research 33(1): 1-4.
• [1362] Singh, A., Singh, S.P. & Bamezai, R., 1998. Momordica charantia (bitter gourd) peel, pulp, seed and whole fruit extract inhibits mouse skin papillomagenesis. Toxicology Letters 94(1): 37-46.
• [1443] Telford, I.R., 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: George, A.S. (Editor): Flora of Australia. Vol. 8. Lecythidales to Batales. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia. pp. 158-198.
• [1485] Ueno, H.M., Doyama, J.T., Padovani, C.R. & Salata, E., 1996. Efeito de Momordica charantia L. em camundongos infectados por Plasmodium berghei *[Effect of Momordica charantia L. in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei]. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 29(5): 455-460.
• [1540] Walters, T.W. & Decker-Walters, D.S., 1988. Notes on Economic plants. Balsampear (Momordica charantia, Cucurbitaceae). Economic Botany 42: 286-287.
• [1589] Wong, C.M., Ng, T.B. & Yeung, H.W.. 1985. Screening of Trichosanthes kirilowii, Momordica charantia and Cucurbita maxima (Family Cucurbitaceae) for compounds with antilipolytic activity. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 13(3): 313-321.

Main genus page

• Momordica (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Nguyen Huu Hien & Sri Hayati Widodo

• See also Momordica (PROSEA Vegetables) as Vegetable.