Phytochemical determination and extraction of Momordica charantia fruit and its hypoglycemic potentiation of oral hypoglycemic drugs in diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Momordica charantia (MC) fruit was subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological interaction studies with oral hypoglycemis in NIDDM patients. Phytochemical, chromatographical analysis and extraction of methanolic MC fruit soft (semi-solid form) in CCl4 + C6H6 solvent system yielded 15 diverse chemical constituents--alkaloids, glycosides, aglycone, tannin, sterol, phenol and protein. The CCl4 + C6H6 MC soft extract was used orally in a dose of 200 mg twice daily (BD) for pharmacological interactions with two diversely acting oral hypoglycemic agents--1) metformin BD and 2) glibenclamide BD in 15 patients of either sex (52-65 years of age) of NIDDM. It was observed that with CCl4 + C6H6 MC soft extract plus half doses of metformin or glibenclamide or both in combination caused hypoglycemia greater than that caused by full doses used in the study with 7 days treatment. Conclusively the extract acts in synergism with oral hypoglycemics and potentiates their hypoglycemia in NIDDM.