A review on salient pharmacological features and chemical constituents of bitter melon

Abstract

Since prehistoric times, plants have been used as medicine and foodstuff across the world. The Cucurbitaceae family includes the Bitter Melon, Momordica charantia. The bitter melon plant is a vine with green leaves and yellow blooms, and the cucumber-like fruit is rectangular and green. It has been used as food and medicine for millennia in the Amazon, Asia, South America, India, East Africa, and the Caribbean. The name "Momordica" derives from the Latin word mordica, which means "to bite," and refers to the notched margins of the leaf that appear to have been bitten. The plant, also known as "bitter melon" or "bitter gourd," lives truly the case to its common name by being exceedingly bitter throughout, including the fruit. This review seeks to offer information on the distribution and cultivation of bitter gourd and also explain the chemical constituents and their biological or pharmacological activity of herbal drugs of Momordica charantia Linn. (Cucurbitaceae). Our first goal was to understand more about the different pharmacological activity of the plant and the mode of action through which the activity is responsible. This review gives a thorough knowledge of traditional use of Momordica charantia with its detailed botanical description. Momordica charantia includes a large number of chemically distinct compounds, needing intensive screening processes to determine the pharmacological effects of its phytoconstituents at the molecular level. Furthermore, the paper highlights the medicinal potential of its bioactive components as well as their use in value-added food items. It has the power to fight against numerous lifestyle-related ailments, such as cancer recurrence, diabetes mellitus, abdominal pain, kidney (stone), fever, and scabies, due to the presence of bioactive chemicals.