Hypoglycemic and Lipid-Lowering Effects of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) in Type 2 Diabetic Patients
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64229/p5wq9942Keywords:
Bitter Melon, Momordica charantia, Type 2 Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, Lipid ProfileAbstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and linked lipid disorders are now public health issues in Pakistan, which largely contribute to increased morbidity and mortality rates. The usual treatments are very costly and have unwanted side effects, creating the demand for safer, cheaper alternatives. This research examines the lipid-lowering and hypoglycemic potential of Momordica charantia (bitter melon), a folk medicinal plant with reported antidiabetic activity. The study was conducted in 40 T2DM patients who were randomly divided into two groups. Group A was given 2 g/day bitter melon powder in capsule form, whereas Group B was given a placebo. The intervention duration lasted for 30 days with the monitoring of fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. At the study's conclusion, Group A demonstrated statistically significant FBG, total cholesterol, and triglyceride reduction compared to Group B, demonstrating significant improvement in both glycemic control and lipid profile. These observations indicate that bitter melon can be used as a useful, natural, and inexpensive adjunct therapy for the control of T2DM and associated lipid disturbances. Its use in food or supplement regimens could provide a valuable alternative in resource-constrained regions such as Pakistan, where availability of optimum diabetes care is still a problem. Larger sample size and extended period of intervention are suggested in further studies to corroborate and generalize these observations.
References
[1]P. Arokiasamy, S. Salvi, and Y. Selvamani, “Global burden of diabetes mellitus,” in Handbook of global health, Springer, 2021, pp. 1-44.
[2]Y. Zheng, S. H. Ley, and F. B. Hu, “Global aetiology and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications,” Nat. Rev. Endocrinol., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 88-98, 2018.
[3]D. G. Nicholls, “The pancreatic β-cell: a bioenergetic perspective,” Physiol. Rev., vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 1385-1447, 2016.
[4]P. S. Jellinger, “Metabolic consequences of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance,” Clin. Cornerstone, vol. 8, pp. S30-S42, 2007.
[5]J. Kaur, P. Singh, and J. R. Sowers, “Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” Am. J. Ther., vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 510-515, 2002.
[6]A. Tenenbaum, R. Klempfner, and E. Z. Fisman, “Hypertriglyceridemia: a too long unfairly neglected major cardiovascular risk factor,” Cardiovasc. Diabetol., vol. 13, no. 1, p. 159, 2014.
[7]G. Murtaza et al., “Examining the growing challenge: Prevalence of diabetes in young adults,” Med. Int., vol. 5, no. 1, p. 2, 2024.
[8]T. M. Dall et al., “The economic burden of elevated blood glucose levels in 2017: diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, and prediabetes,” Diabetes Care, vol. 42, no. 9, pp. 1661-1668, 2019.
[9]P. Tiwari, “Recent trends in therapeutic approaches for diabetes management: a comprehensive update,” J. Diabetes Res., vol. 2015, no. 1, p. 340838, 2015.
[10]G. Persad, “The medical cost pandemic: why limiting access to cost-effective treatments hurts the global poor,” Chi. J. Int’l L., vol. 15, p. 559, 2014.
[11]M. Whittingham, C. L. Marmarosh, P. Mallow, and M. Scherer, “Mental health care equity and access: A group therapy solution.,” Am. Psychol., vol. 78, no. 2, p. 119, 2023.
[12]F. Saeed et al., “Bitter melon (Momordica charantia): A natural healthy vegetable,” Int. J. Food Prop., vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 1270-1290, 2018.
[13]M. Gupta, S. Sharma, A. K. Gautam, and R. Bhadauria, “Momordica charantia Linn.(Karela): Nature’s silent healer,” Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 32-37, 2011.
[14]S. K. Bhamra, A. Slater, C. Howard, M. Johnson, and M. Heinrich, “The use of traditional herbal medicines amongst South Asian diasporic communities in the UK,” Phyther. Res., vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1786-1794, 2017.
[15]K. K. Kumaree and A. Prasansuklab, “Bioactive components of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) and their antidiabetic response,” Antidiabetic Med. plants Herb. Treat., pp. 117-132, 2023.
[16]C. J. Hedeskov, “Mechanism of glucose-induced insulin secretion.,” Physiol. Rev., vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 442-509, 1980.
[17]P. Malik, “MOMORDICA CHARANTIA (BITTER MELON) CHEWABLE LOZENGES-A HYPOTHESIS-BASED APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS”.
[18]L. Leung, R. Birtwhistle, J. Kotecha, S. Hannah, and S. Cuthbertson, “Anti-diabetic and hypoglycaemic effects of Momordica charantia (bitter melon): a mini review,” Br. J. Nutr., vol. 102, no. 12, pp. 1703-1708, 2009.
[19]G. V. K. Senanayake et al., “The effects of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) on serum and liver triglyceride levels in rats,” J. Ethnopharmacol., vol. 91, no. 2-3, pp. 257-262, 2004.
[20]G. X. Shen, “Lipid disorders in diabetes mellitus and current management,” Curr. Pharm. Anal., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 17-24, 2007.
[21]E. Richter, T. Geetha, D. Burnett, T. L. Broderick, and J. R. Babu, “The effects of Momordica charantia on type 2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease,” Int. J. Mol. Sci., vol. 24, no. 5, p. 4643, 2023.
[22]J. M. Morell, “Therapeutic Effects of Cannabidiol in Diabetes Mellitus,” 2023.
[23]A. DHAKAD, “STUDIES ON FLORAL DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY IN GRAPEVINE”.
[24]J.-H. Chang, “The agricultural potential of the humid tropics,” Geogr. Rev., pp. 333-361, 1968.
[25]M. P. N. Nkongo, Ecology and socio-economic importance of short fallows in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. Bangor University (United Kingdom), 2002.
[26]S. Hussain, F. Malik, N. Khalid, M. A. Qayyum, and H. Riaz, “Alternative and traditional medicines systems in Pakistan: history, regulation, trends, usefulness, challenges, prospects and limitations,” A Compend. essays Altern. Ther., pp. 89-108, 2012.
[27]G. Pumthong et al., “Complementary and alternative medicines for diabetes mellitus management in ASEAN countries,” Complement. Ther. Med., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 617-625, 2015.
[28]K. Kümmerer, “The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment due to human use-present knowledge and future challenges,” J. Environ. Manage., vol. 90, no. 8, pp. 2354-2366, 2009.
[29]D. Dhar, Pancreatic Cancer Chemoprevention and Intervention Strategies Employing a Natural Agent: Bitter Melon Juice. University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 2018.
[30]R. Malhotra, N. Rana, Himani, S. Manwatkar, and B. Kumar, “Application of Peptides for the Treatment of Diabetes: A Plant-Based Bioactive Material,” in Biosystems, Biomedical & Drug Delivery Systems: Characterization, Restoration and Optimization, Springer, 2024, pp. 327-343.
[31]E. Asante and R. Avornyo, “Enhancing healthcare system in Ghana through integration of traditional medicine,” J. Soc. Res., vol. 4, no. 2, 2013.
[32]M. K. Abu-Mahfouz, “In-Vivo and In-Vitro Drug-Herb Interaction Between Bitter Melon (Momordica Charantia L.) and Glimepiride in Diabetes Mellitus.” University of Petra (Jordan), 2021.
[33]A. C. Suthar et al., “Efficacy and safety of PDM011011 capsules as compared to metformin in subjects with type-2 diabetes mellitus: An open-label, randomized, active-controlled, multicentric, phase III study,” J. Diabetes Mellit., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 38-48, 2015.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Mubashir Malik (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
