PMC

Bitter melon restricts cell growth and induces cell death in PANC-1 cells. Bitter melon decreases tumor cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, and inhibits angiogenesis. BMJ, bitter melon juice; BME, bitter melon extract.

Bitter melon extract does not induce apoptosis in HT-29 and SW480 cells. (a) Bitter melon extract does not affect the caspase 3/7 activation, an apoptosis mediator. SW480 and HT-29 cells incubated with 150 μg/mL of bitter melon extract were analyzed for apoptosis by caspase 3/7 fluorometric assay. Bitter melon extract treatment did not induce any caspase activity when compared to untreated controls. Staurosporine 1 μM was used as a positive control. (b) Bitter melon extract does not affect the PARP cleavage in colon cancer cell lines. Western blot analysis for PARP cleavage of bitter melon treated cell lysates was performed using rabbit anti-PARP antibody. Bitter melon extract treatment resulted in no cleavage of PARP but significant PARP cleavage was observed in presence of a positive control, 1 μM staurosporine (St). These data suggest that bitter melon extracts do not induce cells to undergo apoptosis.

Bitter melon extract inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation and clonogenicity. (a) Bitter melon extract inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells. Cells were incubated with increasing doses (0–500 μg/mL) of bitter melon whole fruit (BMW) or skin (BMSk) extracts for 48 h and analyzed for cell proliferation. Bitter melon extract treatment resulted in a significant dose-dependent decrease in cell proliferation in both HT-29 and SW480 cells when compared with untreated controls. BMW is better in inhibiting cell proliferation. The extracts did not affect the proliferation of human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells suggesting a lack of toxicity in normal cells. (b) Bitter melon extract affects clonogenicity. Colon cancer cells were incubated with 100 μg/mL of bitter melon extract for 48 h and subsequently allowed to grow into colonies for 7 days. Incubation with bitter melon extract inhibits colony formation. Results are representative of three independent experiments.

Effect of bitter melon and glibenclamide on HbA1-c level. Group I = Bitter melon (2 g/day); Group II = Bitter melon (4 g/day); Group III = Glibenclamide (2.5 mg/day). *p ≤ 0.05 compared to baseline, ^¤ p ≤ 0.01 compared to baseline, ^† p ≤ 0.05 compared to group III at week 10.