Molecules 2012, 17(8), 9631-9640; doi:10.3390/molecules17089631
Article

In Vitro Anti-diabetic Activities and Chemical Analysis of Polypeptide-k and Oil Isolated from Seeds of Momordica charantia (Bitter Gourd)

Zuraini Ahmad 1 email, Khairul Faizi Zamhuri 1 email, Azhar Yaacob 2 email, Chiong Hoe Siong 1,2 email, Malarvili Selvarajah 1 email, Amin Ismail 3 email and Muhammad Nazrul Hakim 1,* email
1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia 2 Sports Academy, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia 3 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 10 July 2012; in revised form: 31 July 2012 / Accepted: 4 August 2012 / Published: 10 August 2012
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Abstract: The amino acid and fatty acid composition of polypeptide k and oil isolated from the seeds of Momordica charantia was analysed. The analysis revealed polypeptide k contained 9 out of 11 essential amino acids, among a total of 18 types of amino acids. Glutamic acid, aspartic acid, arginine and glycine were the most abundant (17.08%, 9.71%, 9.50% and 8.90% of total amino acids, respectively). Fatty acid analysis showed unusually high amounts of C18-0 (stearic acid, 62.31% of total fatty acid). C18-1 (oleic acid) and C18-2 (linoleic acid) were the other major fatty acid detected (12.53% and 10.40%, respectively). The oil was devoid of the short fatty acids (C4-0 to C8-0). Polypeptide k and oil were also subjected to in vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition assays. Both polypeptide k and seed oil showed potent inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme (79.18% and 53.55% inhibition, respectively). α-Amylase was inhibited by 35.58% and 38.02%, respectively. Collectively, the in vitro assay strongly suggests that both polypeptide k and seed oil from Momordica charantia are potent potential hypoglycemic agents.
Keywords: Momordica charantia; amino acids; fatty acids; α-glucosidase; α-amylase

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Ahmad, Z.; Zamhuri, K.F.; Yaacob, A.; Siong, C.H.; Selvarajah, M.; Ismail, A.; Hakim, M.N. In Vitro Anti-diabetic Activities and Chemical Analysis of Polypeptide-k and Oil Isolated from Seeds of Momordica charantia (Bitter Gourd). Molecules 2012, 17, 9631-9640.

AMA Style

Ahmad Z, Zamhuri KF, Yaacob A, Siong CH, Selvarajah M, Ismail A, Hakim MN. In Vitro Anti-diabetic Activities and Chemical Analysis of Polypeptide-k and Oil Isolated from Seeds of Momordica charantia (Bitter Gourd). Molecules. 2012; 17(8):9631-9640.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ahmad, Zuraini; Zamhuri, Khairul Faizi; Yaacob, Azhar; Siong, Chiong Hoe; Selvarajah, Malarvili; Ismail, Amin; Hakim, Muhammad Nazrul. 2012. "In Vitro Anti-diabetic Activities and Chemical Analysis of Polypeptide-k and Oil Isolated from Seeds of Momordica charantia (Bitter Gourd)." Molecules 17, no. 8: 9631-9640.

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