The Bitter Gourd Momordica charantia L.: Morphological Aspects, Charantin and Vitamin C Contents.

Abstract

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is an important vegetable crop of several countries in the tropics. Bitter gourd has recently received growing attention due to its anti-diabetic compound in its immature fruits. This study was conducted to analyze the morphological, charantin as anti-diabetic compound and Vitamin C contents in bitter gourd fruits. Eight accessions of Bitter gourd germplasm -2 from Indonesia and 6 from India- were grown and fruits were collected for further charantin and Vitamin C isolation and analysis. The charantin and Vitamin C content of bitter gourd fruits were investigated in 5,10,15, 20 days after fruit setting among 8 accessions of bitter gourd by HPLC. Result of the study shows that the content of charantin and Vitamin C in fruit was higher than leaf. The high level of vitamin C was found at D10 (2343.869mg/100g DW). Three accessions, KSI 2, KSI 7, KSI 8 showed highest charantin contents as 0.73 (D10), 0.98(D15), 0.77(D5)mg/100g.