Pilot study: Hypoglycemic and antiglycation activities of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) in type 2 diabetic patients

Background/Objectives

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L., MC) has been used as a traditional remedy in diabetics due to its hypoglycemic activity. However, its anti-hyperglycemic effect and antiglycation activity have been demonstrated in vitro and in animal experiments, but not in a long-term clinical study. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bitter melon on long-term glycemic control and glycation status in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

This study was a two-arm, parallel, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in which type 2 diabetic patients were randomized to continuously take either 6 g/day of MC dried-fruit pulp containing 6.26 ± 0.28 mg of charantin (N = 19) or placebo (N = 19) for 16 weeks.

Results

After 8 and 16 weeks of the treatment, the reduction of A1C from baseline in the MC group was greater than that of the placebo group (0.25 ± 0.12%, P = 0.042 and 0.31 ± 0.15%, P = 0.044, respectively). In addition, the MC group showed a significant decline of total advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in serum after 16 weeks of the intervention. The mean difference between both groups was 8.22 ± 3.58 × 10³ AU/g protein (P = 0.028). The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum creatinine (Cr) did not change from baseline in each group and were not different between the two groups. None of participants experienced serious adverse events.

Conclusions

It is possible that this herb is beneficial not only on glycemic control, but also on potential systemic complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus.