• Applied Microscopy
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.355-363
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effect of Momordica Charantia L. water extracts, one of the natural chelator, on the biochemical and enzyme activity changes in the rats liver and kidney caused by lead acetate. Rat approximately 250 g in weight were grouped into the control, lead acetate treated, and the Momordica Charantia L. boiling water extracts treated after lead acetate groups. Lead acetate (1,000 ppm) and Momordica Charantia L. water extracts (5%, 10%) were delivered drinking water. Serum AST, ALT and BUN were measured, histological alteration of liver and kidney were examined by light microscopy. Momordica Charantia L. extract group was decreased serum AST, ALT and BUN level induced by lead. Optical observations of liver tissue, lead group were observed necrosis of hepatic cells and infiltration of inflammatory cells, but Momordica Charantia L. extract group was observed only slight infiltration of inflammatory cells around the central vein. Optical observations of kidney tissue, lead acetate induced atrophy and necrosis of glomerulus and infiltration of inflammatory cell around renal tubule. For the group treated with Momordica charantia L. extract, the glomerulus was similar to the control, some around the renal tubule was observed infiltration of inflammatory cells. In conclusion, Momordica Charantia L. water extract may protect the lead-induced toxicity on liver and kidney.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.335-344
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to determine the rheological characteristics and sensory evaluation of yanggaeng by using the functional properties of Momordica charantia. Dried Momordica charantia was roasted at $180^{\circ}C$ to remove its bitter taste. The results of the study were as follows : The phenolic compound of Momordica charantia was $6.30{\pm}0.17mg/g$ in water extracts, which was the highest extractive rate. The anti-oxidant activity of non-roasted and roasted samples was determined in various phenolic concentrations at $50{\sim}200{\mu}g/mL$. The DPPH activities of non-roasted and roasted Momordica charantia water and ethanol extracts were 74.06~92.71% and 86.06~94.07%, respectively. The ABTS were 36.26~98.03% and 67.02~99.60% in water and ethanol extracts, respectively. The anti-oxidant protection factor of water and ethanol extracts were 2.19~2.25 PF and 2.20~2.36 PF respectively, and TBARS were 13.81~40.97% and 23.32~82.47%, respectively. The anti-oxidant activity of ethanol extracts was higher than that of water extracts at low phenolics concentration of $50{\mu}g/mL$, while the roasted sample was higher than the sample that was not roasted. The ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition activity of non-roasted Momordica charantia ethanol extracts was higher than that of water extracts, showing that there were increasing pattern depending on the increases in the phenolics concentration of Momordica charantia. The texture, such as hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness and color changed in proportion to the concentration of Momordica charantia powder. Moreover sensory characteristics, such as color, flavor, taste, texture and overall acceptability of the non-roasted sample changed in proportion to the concentration of Momordica charantia powder. However, in the roasted sample, the sensory characteristics was improved at a lower concentration (below 1%). Thus, when the yanggang was prepared by Momordica charantia powder as a minor ingredient, it would be desirable to add it after roasting, in consideration of its functional and sensory properties, and at appropriate concentration on below 1%.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2007

This study was carried out to determine the antioxidant activity and vitamin C contents in plant extracts of the Momordica charantia L. The vitamin C was detected as the highest content in immature fruit (92.2 mg/100 g), while the content in stem (2.5 mg/100 g) was lower 40 times than that of immature fruit. Antioxidant activity for the dried sample was investigated by TBA method. The lowest TBARS values were obtained from extracts of dried leaf and followed by ascorbic acid and BHT, showing that the extracts from dried leaf possess the strongest antioxidant activity. Compared with fresh tissues, SOD activity, ATX activity and CAT activity were high level in the dried tissue. These results suggest that the Momordica charantia L. would be a promising antioxidant source as an alternative antioxidant, based on natural plant resources.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.203-209
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• 2010

In this study, the effects of Petasites japonicus and Momordica charantia L. extracts on MC3T3-ET1 osteoblastic cells were investigated. Since the activity of osteoblastic cell is one of the important factors for bone formation, the cellular proliferation of osteoblast was evaluated by MTT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Compared to control, the cell proliferation was elevated to 114% and 112% by the treatment of Petasites japonicus and Momordica charantia L. extracts, respectively at the concentration of $10\;{\mu}g/mL$. The cell differentiation was also measured by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity at 3, 7, 14, and 27 days treatments with one of the extracts, respectively. As results, the ALP activity was significantly increased at 3 days, compared to control (p<0.05). To evaluate the effect of Petasites japonicus and Momordica charantia L. extracts on bone nodule formation, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in $\alpha$-MEM for 3, 14, and 21 days and then stained by alizarin red. To determine the expression patterns of bone-related proteins during the MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cell differentiation, osteoblast cells were cultured in $\alpha$-MEM for 24 hr. RNA was extracted and RT-PCR analysis was performed to examine the expression of OPG, RANKL and osteocalcin. Petasites japonicus extract exhibited the significant increment of osteocalcin compared with the positive control, which suggests that Petasites japonicus may have beneficial effects on bone health through the proliferation of osteoblast cells.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.97-102
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• 2022

In this study, the antibacterial effect of silkworm extract and Momordica charantia extract on S. mutans and F. nucleatum was investigated. S. mutans or F. nucleatum and 0%, 2%, 4%, 8% concentration of silkworm powder or Momordica charantia powder extract were added to the BHI liquid medium and cultured, and the sample was measured at an optical density of 600nm. As a result, S. mutans, the absorbance value was significantly decreased only in 8% of the silkworm extract, and the absorbance value was significantly decreased in all concentrations in the Momordica charantia extract. The absorbance of F. nucleatum was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner in both the silkworm extract and the Momordica charantia extract. This suggests the possibility that silkworm extract and Momordica charantia extract can be used as materials for the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.999-1006
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• 2015

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) has been used as a medicinal plant due to its biological activity. This study investigated the inhibitory effects on carbohydrase and anti-inflammatory effects of hot-water extract (WEM) and ethanol extract (EEM) from dried bitter melon cultivated in Korea. The inhibitory activities of EEM against ${\alpha}$-amylase and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase were over 70% at 4,000 ppm. The inhibitory activities of EEM were significantly higher than those of WEM at all concentrations. The anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated by measuring nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. EEM did not show cytotoxicity on RAW264.7 cells at the test concentrations. Moreover, the inhibitory effect on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells was significantly increased by the addition of EEM. These findings suggest that EEM has good inhibitory effect on carbohydrase and anti-inflammatory activity and it has potential as a source of natural functional material.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2012

The antioxidant potential and enzyme activities in Salicornia herbacea, Corylopsis coreana, Erythronium japonicum, Phragmites communis, Momordica Charantia, Nelumbo nucifera, Salvia plebeia, Portulaca oleracea, Ficus carica, Citrus junos and Cornus officinalis were determined. Their antioxidant activities were measured using DPPH radical scavenging and nitrite scavenging activity. Enzyme activities in investigated plants were evaluated as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). The DPPH scavenging rate from 100 to 2500 $mgL^{-1}$ was the highest in the flower of Corylopsis coreana. However, it was not detected in most of the samples at concentration below 100 $mgL^{-1}$. The nitrite scavenging activity according to each kind of resource plants was significantly higher in the stem of Corylopsis coreana and leaf of Nelumbo nucifera. The root extract of Erythronium japonicum had the highest SOD enzyme activity of 94.0% while leaf of Salvia plebeia showed the lowest SOD enzyme activity of 30.4%. The activity of CAT and APX showed higher values in the stem of Corylopsis coreana, root of Erythronium japonicum and root of Phragmites communis in comparison with other plants. The activity of POD showed significantly high values in stem of Corylopsis coreana, Momordica Charantia and pericarp of Citrus junos extracts. The antioxidant enzyme activities differ significantly in different plants. In conclusion, we showed that Corylopsis coreana, Erythronium japonicum Cornus officinalis, and Momordica Charantia had the potent biological activities. Therefore, these plant resources showing antioxidant activity could be good materials for development of source of functional healthy food.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.1637-1644
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• 2015

To develop health-functional food ingredients for improvement of diabetes, we examined biological activities, including total contents of polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and inhibition of ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase activities of ethanol extracts from unripe fruit of Momordica charantia L. cultivated in Hamyang, Korea. Ethanol extracts were tested using different ethanol concentrations (0%, 30%, 50%, and 70%) and temperatures ($50^{\circ}C$ and $70^{\circ}C$). Experimental results showed that total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were achieved concentrations of 7.77 mg/g (tannic acid), 7.66 mg/g (gallic acid), and 10.66 mg/g (rutin). The hydroxyl radical scavenging, ABTS cation radical scavenging, and FRAP activities were 82.19%, 42.82%, and 0.19 under the same conditions, respectively. The highest inhibitory activities of ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase were achieved in the 70% ethanol extract at $70^{\circ}C$. These results will be useful for development of health functional foods for anti-diabetes using 70% ethanol extract from unripe fruit of bitter melon.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.401-411
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• 2015

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) has various biological functions, including anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antioxidant activities. However, the development of foods using bitter melon (BM) is unexplored due to its bitter taste. In this study, BM pickle was prepared, and changes in quality characteristics and antioxidant activity during ageing were determined. After 4 weeks of ageing, pH levels, salinities, soluble solids, and reducing sugars of BM pickle decreased, whereas acidities increased. In addition, total viable, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast viable cell numbers greatly increased until 1 week, after which they slightly decreased. Levels of soluble phenolics increased during ageing, antioxidant activity increased accordingly. Crude protein, K, and P contents of pickles were lower than in raw material of BM, whereas crude fat and Na contents increased. Corn silk extracts were added to BM pickle during ageing in order to improve the bitter taste and flavor. The best sensory quality was obtained by adding 0.25% corn silk extracts.