Momordica charantia Extracts in Selected Media:Screening of Phytochemical Content and In vitro Evaluation of Anti-Diabetic Properties

Diabetes mellitus is a multifunctional disorder which is increasing rapidly in most parts of the world. It has been estimated that up to one third of patients with diabetes mellitus use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. One plant that has received the most attention for its anti-diabetic properties is Momordica charantia commonly referred to as bitter gourd. In this study, bitter gourd was extracted in various media i.e. ethanol, water, citric acid, sodium carbonate and sodium chloride. The samples were evaluated for their in-vitro ability to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes activity. Ethanol extract was observed to have maximum inhibition against these enzymes. The IC₅₀ values recorded for inhibition of α-amylase activity were 81.34, 87.56, 83.89, 97.71 and 83.12 μg/ml respectively for crude extracts of ethanol, water, citric acid, Na₂CO₃ and NaCl. Similarly, the ability of extracts to inhibit α-glucosidase was reflected in the result pattern ethanol<Na₂CO₃<NaCl<aqueous<citric acid (i.e. 72.81<75.66<80.15<81.22<83.85 μg/ml). Therefore, ethanol extract has potential applications in developing drug therapy for the treatment of diabetes using bitter gourd.