Eat Momordica charantia to Get Rid of Dementia

Momordica charantia commonly known as bitter gourd in English and Karela in Hindi is widely used as a vegetable throughout the World. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of Momordica charantia fruit (MCF) on memory, total cholesterol levels, glucose levels and brain cholinesterase activity in mice. A total of 336 mice divided in 56 different groups were employed in the present investigation. Different groups of young and aged mice were fed orally with a specially prepared diet containing various concentrations of Momordica charantia (5, 10, 20%w/w) for 30 days consecutively. The memory of these animals was measured using various exteroceptive and interoceptive behavioral models. MCF produced a dose-dependent improvement in memory scores of young and aged mice. MCF also reversed successfully the amnesia induced by scopolamine and diazepam. Interestingly, brain cholinesterase activity, blood glucose and total cholesterol levels were reduced by MCF administered in daily diets. The underlying mechanism of action for the observed memory-enhancing effect of MCF may be attributed to its acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory activity, hypoglycemic activity and/or cholesterol lowering property. Thus eating of bitter gourd on regular basis through daily diets would help in protecting us from developing dementia.