Momordica charantia L.
EOL Text
Fl. Per.: April-July.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200022698 |
Uses: FOOD, Vegetable/potherb, MEDICINE/DRUG, Folk medicine
Comments: The parboiled leaves of this perrenial vine are served as a vegetable, and the unripe fruits, boiled or fried, are eaten in salads in Peru. Sap from the leaves and fruit is taken for colic and as a vermifuge. It is the most common medicine for diabetes among the populations of the Iquitos region in Peru. An infusion of the leaves is taken before breakfast to decrease blood sugar levels, and is locally known as papailla. In Colombia, the seeds are thopught to be toxic. In Brazil, the plant is used in baths to cure eczemas and herpes. A tincture of the stems is considered febrifugal, the roots are thought to be purgative and emetic, and the leaves are used for rheumatic and menstrual pains. In the Carribbean, is is commonly used to treat colds and fevers, rheumatisms and arthritis. In the Caicas Islands a decoction of the vine is taken with salt before and after childbirth. In Aruba, a decoction with sugar is drunk to lower blood pressure. Barbados natives take a decoction to treat influenza. In the Coro Islands, the plant is thought to remedy kidney stones. The Jamaicans drink a decoction of the fruit and diced leaves for colds, fever, and stomachache, and value it as a constipation reliever in small children. It is also a general tonic and emmenogogue and is widely believed to be a "cancer cure" in Caribbean. In Cuba, it is reported to be used to improve the appetite and as a treatment for colic, hepatic problems, fever, and kidney stones. A lotion is applied to reduce skin inflammation from skin diseases. In the Yucatán, a root decoction is thought to have anthelmintic and aphrodisiac properties.
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| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Momordica+charantia |
Contains antileukemic, estrogenic and hypoglycemic chemicals. Seed contains abortifacient proteins, as well as the glucosidic steroid charantine which has an insulin-like hypoglycemic activity, and the oncostatic drug momordin.
Perennial climber with prostrate or scandent stems up to 5 m long. Tendrils simple. Leaves up to 10 × 12.5 cm, broadly ovate to almost circular in outline, deeply 3-7 lobed, cordate at the base; ultimate margin with sinuate or lobe-like teeth. Flowers unisexual on the same plant, solitary, pale to deep yellow; male flowers larger than female flowers. Fruit ovoid with a conspicuous beak, up to 10 × 4 cm, usually smaller, tuberculate and ridged, orange-red when ripe; dehiscent into 3 valves.
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
Pantropical. Probably introduced in the Neotropics.
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 8
Specimens with Barcodes: 18
Species With Barcodes: 1
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Momordica+charantia |
glicosídeos triterpenicos
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | CPQBA/UNICAMP, IABIN |
| Source | No source database. |
Distribución: En cercas, a la orilla de carreteras, en cafetales y pastizales de elevaciones medias y bajas. También en Culebra, Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola y Virgen Gorda; natural de China y Asia pero se encuentra naturalizada a través de los trópicos y subtrópicos del Nuevo Mundo.
Bosques Públicos: Cambalache, El Yunque, Maricao, Mona, Río Abajo, Susúa y Vega.