• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.518-523
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• 2016

This study investigated the nutritional components and antioxidant activity of dry bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.). The moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, carbohydrate, and ascorbic acid contents of dry bitter melon were 6.10%, 3.31%, 1.08%, 2.31%, 87.20%, and 908.84 mg/100 g, respectively. Potassium was the most abundant mineral, followed by Mg, P, Na, Ca, Zn, Cu, and Mn, which means dry bitter melon was an alkali material. Regarding amino acid contents, dry bitter melon was rich in arginine, urea, asparagine, ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid, and alanine. Total polyphenol and total flavonoid contents of dry bitter melon extract were 36.08 mg gallic acid equivalents/extract g and 15.66 mg tannic acid equivalents/extract g, respectively. The $IC_{50}$ value for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was 9.81 mg/mL for dry bitter melon ethanol extracts.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.466-473
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate the reduction in bitter taste and quality characteristics by pretreatments (brining; 1, 5% and blanching; 1, 3 min) in pickled bitter melon, respectively. We prepared picked bitter melon samples at 1%-1 min, 1%-3 min, 5%-1 min, 5%-3 min. Total polyphenol and total flavonoid contents were found to be the highest in 5%-1 min at $14.23{\pm}0.40mg\;CE/g$ (dry) and $4.46{\pm}0.10mg\;RE/g$ (dry), respectively. L-ascorbic acid level was the highest in control samples. Arginine and glutamic acid were increased by brining and blanching. ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activity were found to be the highest at $43.60{\pm}0.40$ and $44.88{\pm}0.20%$ at 5%-1 min, respectively. ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activity was the highest at 5%-1 min. The a value was statistically different, whereas L and b values were similar among different pretreatments. Hardness in pretreated samples was decreased as compared to that in the control. Among sensory evaluations, 'color' did not indicate any statistical difference, while 'texture', 'bitterness preference' and 'overall preference' increased with pretreatments, and 'bitter intensity' decreased.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.430-436
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• 2018

This study aimed to analyze charantin and lutein from fresh bitter melon (FBM) for their antioxidant and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activities. We subsequently compared our results with charantin and lutein content of pickled bitter melon (PBM11, PBM13, PBM51, and PBM53), obtained by brining (1 and 5% salt) and blanching (1 and 3 min). Charantin, lutein, $\text\tiny{L}$-ascorbic acid, and total polyphenolic content in FBM were $777.92{\pm}27.59$, $16.87{\pm}2.07$, $94.78{\pm}0.61$, and $22.07{\pm}0.74mg$ catechin equivalents/g on dry basis, respectively. Antioxidant activity of 5 mg/L FBM extract was $31.76{\pm}0.42%$ in ABTS assay and $56.19{\pm}2.39%$ in DPPH assay; ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity of 0.5 mg/L FBM extract was $55.60{\pm}1.34%$. Charantin and lutein content of all PBM samples were higher than control without brining and blanching treatments, those in PBM53 being $375.63{\pm}9.03$ and $4.07{\pm}0.40mg/100g$, respectively. These showed that brining and blanching in pickling process were very effective in retaining charantin and lutein in bitter melon.