ABSTRACT
Herbal remedies have attracted and served mankind from the time immemorial. Momordica charantia (MC) is the member of the cucurbitaceae family, is known as bitter melon, bitter gourd and karela. It is used traditionally as both food and medicine. Fruit juice of Momordica charantia has been used for the treatment of Diabetes for centuries. Charantin, a natural steroidal glycoside present in the fruits of this medicinal plant, has been reported to possess potential hypoglycemic activity. Medicinally, the plant has a long history of use by the indigenous people as a folk medicine and medical literature has consistently supported these therapeutic potentials. Several medicinal properties of the bitter gourd have been studied by various researchers, such as antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer etc. This review addresses pharmacognostic, phytochemical, medicinal and pharmacological properties in detail.
Keywords: Herbal remedies, Momordica charantia, Diabetes, Pharmacognostical and Pharmacological properties.