Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications put
great impact on global health and economic consequences.
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L., MC, family Cucurbitaceae)
has been used as a traditional remedy with hypoglycemic activity
particularly in tropical areas.1,2 In vitro and experimental
animal studies have demonstrated its hypoglycemic activity as
well as possible mechanisms of action as alpha-glucosidase
inhibition, insulin-like properties, insulin secretagogue,
pancreatic beta-cell function preservation, increase of GLUT-4
in skeletal muscle cell and reduction of hepatic
gluconeogenesis.1,3e5 To date, the potency of MC dried-fruit
pulp is widely claimed, but the scientific results in diabetic
patients were inconsistent. Most previous clinical studies were
not randomize, unclear of specification of the investigational
products, and not long-term studies.