Diabetics, who want to keep their blood glucose level under check the natural way, can now comfortably drink karela (bitter gourd) juice. Vegetable scientists have developed a bitter gourd, which is not bitter, but is, in fact, highly palatable.
A team of Indian and Taiwanese researchers is now conducting clinical trials on the efficacy of new bitter gourd in controlling blood sugar levels. The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC), which has successfully removed bitterness from karela, has tied up with Avinashlingam University for Women, Coimbatore, for the trials.
The AVRDC has a centre in Hyderabad and it is part of the Project Bitter Gourd, aimed at developing a bitter gourd variety that has the ideal content of momordicin, a chemical that makes this gourd bitter. “The clinical trials will help us to identify whether bitter gourd, which is robbed of its bitterness, will be able to control the blood sugar in diabetics. We have received samples of the bitterless bitter gourd powder from AVRDC, Taiwan. Our team will visit Taiwan before we launch the trials in India,” said Dr S. Premakumari, dean, Avinashlingam University for Women.
Dried powder of non-bitter bitter gourd for preparation of juice has been developed by researchers Hsin-I Wang and Sandra Habicht of AVRDC. This will be used for an intervention trial with diabetic patients to manage type 2 diabetes, and promote health in developing countries. Data collected during the intervention trial will help determine the anti-hyperglycemic properties of bitter gourd, and will be used to develop evidence-based dietary strategies for managing the disease. “The bitter taste of the vegetable powder had to be masked to avoid bias,” she said.
and guarantee a blind study design. During the trial the powders will be dissolved in drinking water and consumed by participants, who will not know which juice is which,” she said.
The Indian team will also develop bitter gourd recipes and evaluate them for nutrient retention and anti-diabetic activity.