Evaluation of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) extract administration in the antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of plasma and liver in male rat

The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activities of dietary bitter melon fruit supplemented in male rat model. In this study, three common tests for measuring antioxidant activity of the bitter melon were evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH assay), total phenolic acid assay (TPC assay) and Ferric reducing ability of plasma assa. (FRAP assay). Results showed that the extracting solvent significantly (P 0.05) altered the antioxidant property estimations of bitter melon fruit. Pure solvents were inefficient extraction media for antioxidant. Enhanced extraction yields were obtained from solvent containing higher water concentrations and 50% acetone is a recommended solvent for extracting antioxidants compounds from bitter melon fruit. High levels of antioxidant activities were detected in plasma and liver in treatment group compared to the control group, indicating that the fruit may serve as an excellent dietary source of natural antioxidants. The correlation between total phenolics and the antioxidant activities of bitter melon showed significant positive correlations (r2). These findings support the notion that the bitter melon’s a good source of bioactive compounds. From the study it was observed that there was a significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) in plasma total antioxidant capacity in rat after the consumption of bitter melon.