Saponins from the traditional medicinal plant Momordica charantia stimulate insulin secretion in vitro - PubMed (original) (raw)

Saponins from the traditional medicinal plant Momordica charantia stimulate insulin secretion in vitro

Amy C Keller et al. Phytomedicine. 2011.

Abstract

The antidiabetic activity of Momordica charantia (L.), Cucurbitaceae, a widely-used treatment for diabetes in a number of traditional medicine systems, was investigated in vitro. Antidiabetic activity has been reported for certain saponins isolated from M. charantia. In this study insulin secretion was measured in MIN6 β-cells incubated with an ethanol extract, saponin-rich fraction, and five purified saponins and cucurbitane triterpenoids from M. charantia, 3β,7β,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23(E)-dien-19-al (1), momordicine I (2), momordicine II (3), 3-hydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-19-al-7,23-di-O-β-glucopyranoside (4), and kuguaglycoside G (5). Treatments were compared to incubation with high glucose (27 mM) and the insulin secretagogue, glipizide (50 μM). At 125 μg/ml, an LC-ToF-MS characterized saponin-rich fraction stimulated insulin secretion significantly more than the DMSO vehicle, p=0.02. At concentrations 10 and 25 μg/ml, compounds 3 and 5 also significantly stimulated insulin secretion as compared to the vehicle, p≤0.007, and p=0.002, respectively. This is the first report of a saponin-rich fraction, and isolated compounds from M. charantia, stimulating insulin secretion in an in vitro, static incubation assay.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

Compounds 3_β_,7_β_,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23(E)-dien-19-al (1), momordicine I (2), momordicine II (3), 3-hydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-19-al-7,23-di-_O-β_-glucopyranoside (4), kuguaglycoside G (5).

Fig. 2

Fig. 2

Insulin secretion activity of the saponin-rich fraction, after 60 min incubation with MIN6 β-cells. The (*) denotes significantly different activity as compared to DMSO vehicle, n=3. Error bars represent standard error.

Fig. 3

Fig. 3

Base peak intensity chromatogram (a), derived from a total ion chromatogram, of saponin-rich fraction of M. charantia. Extracted ion chromatogram (b) for a common cucurbitane skeleton, m/z = 437.3290.

Fig. 4

Fig. 4

A and B. Insulin secretion activity of compounds 3 and 5, after 60 min incubation with MIN6 β-cells. Positive control is 27 mM glucose together with 50 μM glipizide, and vehicle is DMSO. The (*) denotes significantly different activity as compared to vehicle, n=3. Error bars represent standard error.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Allen R, Cushman LF, Morris S, Feldman J, Wade C, McMahon D, Moses M, Kronenberg F. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among Dominican emergency department patients. Am J Emerg Med. 2000;18:51–54. - PubMed
    1. Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. N C f C a A Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Institutes of Health; 2008. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007. - PubMed
    1. Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Semin Int Med. 2002;2:54–71. - PubMed
    1. Basch E, Gabardi S, Ulbricht C. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia): a review of efficacy and safety. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2003;60:356–359. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Controland Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2007. 2010 Retrieved April, 2010 from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2007.pdf.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources