• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.947-952
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• 2008

The unripe fruit of Momordica charantia (MC) has been shown to possess antidiabetic activity. However, the mechanism of its antidiabetic action has not been fully understood. In this study, the effects of the aqueous ethanolic extract of MC (AEE-MC) were evaluated on the apoptosis in pancreatic $\beta$-cells treated with a combination of the cytokines, interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-$\alpha$, and interferon (IFN)-$\gamma$. In MIN6N8 cells, the inhibitory effect of AEE-MC was significantly observed at 2 to 50 ${\mu}g/mL$: a 26.2 to 55.6% decrease of cytoplasmic DNA fragments quantified by an immunoassay. The molecular mechanisms, by which AEE-MC inhibited $\beta$-cell apoptosis, appeared to involve the inhibition on the expression of p21, Bax, and Bad, the up-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-$X_L$, and the inhibition on the cleavage of caspase-9, -7, and -3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. This study suggests that MC may inhibit cytokine-induced apoptosis in $\beta$-cells and, thus, may contribute via this action to the antidiabetic influence in diabetes.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2020

Objectives: Oxidative stress-mediated neuroinflammation has been supposed as a crucial factor that contributes to the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective activity against oxidative stress and neuroinflammation of protocatechuic acid (PA), active phenolic compound from Momordica Charantia. Methods: Protective activity of PA from oxidative stress was performed under in vitro conditions. Our study investigated the protective mechanism of PA from neuroinflammation in cellular system using C6 glial cell. To investigate the improvement the effects on oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, we induced oxidative stress by H₂O₂ (100 μM) stimulation and induced neuroinflammation by treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 ㎍/mL) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) (10 ng/mL) in C6 glial cells. Results: PA showed strong radical scavenging effect against 1,1-dipenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxy radical (·OH) and nitric oxide (NO). Under oxidative stress treated by H₂O₂, the result showed the increased mRNA expressions of oxidative stress markers such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide (iNOS). However, the treatment of PA led to reduced mRNA expressions of NF-κB, COX-2 and iNOS. Moreover, PA attenuated the production of interleukin-6 and scavenged NO generated by both endotoxin LPS and IFN-γ together. Furthermore, it also reduced LPS and IFN-γ-induced mRNA expressions of iNOS and COX-2. Conclusions: In conclusion, our results collectively suggest that PA, phenolic compound of Momordica Charantia, could be a safe anti-oxidant and a promising anti-neuroinflammatory molecule for neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1250-1259
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• 2018

In this study, Momordica charantia (MC) fermented with Leuconostoc mesenteroides (MC-LM) were assessed for the antioxidant and the antidiabetic activities. Antioxidant activities of MC and MC-LM were evaluated using 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)(ABTS) radical. Although MC-treated groups showed little activity, 47% of activity was observed at $500{\mu}g/mL$ concentration for MC-LM and increased significantly(p<0.05) as MC-LM concentration increased. MC-LM more effectively inhibited the oxidative damage of DNA by peroxyl radical than MC and the inhibition of the strand breakage increased significantly as MC-LM concentration increased(p<0.05). Measuring the inhibition of ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ activity, which is closely related to the regulation of blood sugar, resulted in MC reduced the activity of ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ by 30% at 8 mg/mL and MC-LM at the same concentration by 60%. In addition, the effect of MC-LM on the cell viability of alloxan-treated RIN-m5F resulted in a significant increase in cell survival(p<0.05) in the group treated with MC-LM and a 20% increase in the concentration of $1000{\mu}g/mL$. As a result of insulin secretion by alloxan-treated RIN-m5F cell, the level of insulin secretion tended to increase in all group treated with MC-LM. At the concentration of $1000{\mu}g/mL$, the insulin secretion was increased by 15% in MC-LM group than in MC group. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that fermented bitter gourd has antioxidant and antidiabetic effects.

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.462-463
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• 2011

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.64-64
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• 2002

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.72-75
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate changes in the functional compounds in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Four treatments were used to analyze vitamin C, momordicin, K, Mg, and Ca compounds in Dragon bitter gourd on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days after pollination. According to the number of days after pollination, level of chemicals containing vitamin C in bitter gourd appeared to decrease continually after pollination, and was the highest, being 74.7 mg/100 g on the 7th day. The level of momordicin, an anti-diabetic was significantly higher in the 7th-day product than that of the 14th day;, meanwhile, there was no significant difference in Ca compounds. These phenomena are considered to fasten the stages of harvest for effective use of functional ingredients in bitter gourd fruits.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.837-846
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• 2020

In present study, we investigated the antidiabetic effect of Momordica charantia(as well known "bitter melon"). This study was conducted to determine antidiabetic mechanism of Bitter Melon Extract (BME). We measured blood glucose, insulin, glucagon level in a Sprague-Dawley rat model of high-fat diet/streptozotocin(HFD/STZ)-induced diabetes. Five experimental groups were used: normal, HFD/STZ, BME 62.5 mg/kg HFD/STZ, BME 125 mg/kg HFD/STZ and BME 250 mg/kg HFD/STZ. BME was orally administered to the rats every other day for 9 weeks. Results showed that fasting blood glucose levels were significantly lower in the BME 125 mg/kg(150.17 ± 20.22 mg/dL) and 250 mg/kg(124.17 ± 22.17 mg/dL) groups than in the vehicle group(188.83 ± 26.63 mg/dL)(p<0.05). In addition, glucagon levels were lower in the three BME treatment groups than in the vehicle group(p<0.05). Oral glucose tolerance tests revealed that the BME 250 mg/kg group had significantly(p<0.05) reduced 120-minute blood glucose levels and areas under the curve. Our results suggest that BME induces antidiabetic effects via the reduction of glucagon and blood glucose levels.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.408-415
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• 2018

This study aimed to investigate the changes in the ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) cultivated from different regions, with different harvest times and at various maturation stages. Methods for observing the changes in GABA content were validated by determining the specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and precision and accuracy using the HPLC-FLD system. Results showed high linearity in the calibration curve with a coefficient of correlation ($R^2$) of 0.9999. The LOD and LOQ values for GABA were 0.29 and $0.87{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The relative standard deviations for intra- and inter-day precision of GABA were less than 5%. The recovery rate of GABA was in the range of 98.77% to 100.50%. The average content of GABA was 0.93 mg/g and Cheongju showed highest GABA content of 1.88 mg/g. As the time of harvest increased from May to September, the GABA content decreased from 1.56 to 0.86 mg/g. Also, maturation of the bitter melon fruit was associated with a decreased in GABA content.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.75-75
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• 2020

여주(Momordica charantia L.)는 인도 동부와 남중국 등 열대 아시아 지역이 원산지로, 열대 및 아열대를 비롯하여 온대 지역까지 널리 재배되며, 열매를 식용으로 하여 주로 채소로 재배되고 있는데, 쓴맛 때문에 '쓴오이' 라고도 부르지만 당뇨와 고혈압 등 성인병과 장 기능 개선 성분을 함유하고 있다고 알려지는 등 건강기능성 작물로 국내에서도 전국적으로 재배가 되고 있어서, 국내 재배현황과 재배농가의 실태를 조사하여 재배 애로사항 및 발전과제를 도출코져 하였다. 여주의 국내 재배는 2012년 재배면적이 10ha에서 빠르게 증가하여 2017년 606농가 107.9ha로 정점을 이루고, 점차 감소하여 2019년 232농가 59.9ha에서 재배 하였으며, 2019년 재배면적이 많았던 시군은 함양, 강진, 양주, 천안 등 이었다. 여주의 재배작형은 보통재배(육묘후 노지재배) 농가가 가장 많고, 노지재배(직파), 반촉성재배(조숙재배), 촉성재배 형태의 농가가 있는데, 보통재배(육묘후 노지재배)는 3월 하순~4월 상순에 파종 및 육묘한 후 5월상순 노지에 정식하여, 6월 하순부터 가을에 서리가 내리기 전까지 수확한다. 농가의 재배품종은 일본 등 외국도입종의 종자를 종자회사로 부터 구입하여 재배하고 있으며, 재식방법, 시비관리, 줄기유인 등 표준재배법이 정립되지 못하여 농가별로 다양한 방법으로 재배하고 있는 실정이다. 수확은 열매가 완전히 익기전에 생여주 상태에서 수확하고 있으며, 일반 재배농가는 생여주 판매가 10~20%, 건여주 판매가 80~90% 비율이며, 생여주로 100% 건조업체에 판매하기도 하고, 건여주로 100% 건조하여 판매하는 농가도 있다. 국내재배 안전성 향상을 위하여 필요시 되는 기술개발 과제는 용도별 품종육성 및 종자생산 보급, 고품질 여주 생산을 위한 재배관리 기술, 지역별 생산 여주과실의 성분 품질관리 및 건조 가공기술, 여주의 건강기능성 식품 지정 고시 방안 등으로 전문기관에서의 연구개발이 필요하다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.1308-1315
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• 2017

This study was conducted to develop Momordica charantia L. juice fermented by four Lactobacillus species such as Lactobacillus paracasei (LPA), Lactobacillus plantarum (LPL), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LRH), and Lactobacillus reuteri (LRE) as well as to investigate their inhibitory effects against digestive enzymes and antioxidant activities. Fermentation was performed at $37^{\circ}C$ without nutrient supplementation for 72 h. The pH and total lactic acid contents were within the ranges of 3.75~3.96 and 5.21~10.04% in fermented juices, respectively. The type of starter culture and fermentation time induced changes in flavonoid contents more than total phenolic contents. All juices fermented for 48 h strongly inhibited ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity with the percentage of inhibition ranging of 91.24~95.05%. Antioxidant activities of all juices mostly increased after 48 h of fermentation. Our results suggest that fermented juice possesses inhibitory activity against digestive enzymes and antioxidant activity, and they can be used as health functional beverages.