Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications

Abbas, Asad; Tabassum, Iqra; Vohra, Saeed; Weiskirchen, Ralf; Shoukat, Areesha; Afzal, Muhammad Khurram; Ijaz, Adan; Anees, Nimra; Chaudhary, Anis Ahmad; Alhudhaibi, Abdulrahman Mohammed

doi:10.3390/antiox15070839

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Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications

by

Asad Abbas

^1,2

,

Iqra Tabassum

¹,

Saeed Vohra

^3,*

,

Ralf Weiskirchen

^4,*

,

Areesha Shoukat

¹,

Muhammad Khurram Afzal

²,

Adan Ijaz

¹,

Nimra Anees

²

,

Anis Ahmad Chaudhary

⁵

and

Abdulrahman Mohammed Alhudhaibi

⁵

¹

Multan College of Nutritional Sciences, Multan Medical and Dental College, Multan 60000, Pakistan

²

Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan

³

Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh 11623, Saudi Arabia

⁴

Institute of Molecular Pathobiochemistry, Experimental Gene Therapy and Clinical Chemistry (IFMPEGKC), RWTH University Hospital Aachen, D-52074 Aachen, Germany

⁵

Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11623, Saudi Arabia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Antioxidants 2026, 15(7), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15070839

Submission received: 25 May 2026 / Revised: 30 June 2026 / Accepted: 1 July 2026 / Published: 2 July 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Antioxidants and Redox Regulation)

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Abstract

Momordica charantia L. is a medicinal plant rich in bioactive compounds, including steroidal glycosides, flavonoids, phenolics, triterpenoids, saponins, and polysaccharides, which exhibit antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and anticancer activities. This review summarizes its nutritional and phytochemical composition, green extraction technologies, molecular mechanisms, and industrial applications based on literature from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and other scientific databases. Ultrasound-assisted extraction is an efficient and eco-friendly method that provides higher recovery of bioactive compounds from M. charantia and improved bioavailability compared with enzyme-assisted, microwave-assisted, and conventional methods. The phytochemicals of M. charantia regulate oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid peroxidation, and glucose homeostasis. Studies show that its antidiabetic effects involve improved insulin sensitivity, enhanced glucose uptake, and inhibition of carbohydrate-digesting enzymes. These compounds also exhibit antioxidant activity through free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory effects via inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. M. charantia further demonstrates anticancer activity by inducing apoptosis, causing cell-cycle arrest, and downregulating proliferation pathways in several cancer cell lines, including MCF-7, HCT-116, HepG2, A549, and PANC-1. Beyond medicinal uses, it is applied in the food industry as a functional ingredient in products such as yogurt, cookies, pickles, bread, juice, oil, and beverages. Overall, M. charantia shows strong potential for therapeutic applications, including functional foods and pharmaceutical formulations targeting diabetes, inflammation, liver diseases, and cancer; however, further studies are needed to confirm its clinical efficacy.

Keywords: Momordica charantia L.; nutritional composition; phytochemistry; advanced extraction techniques; molecular mechanism; industrial applications

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MDPI and ACS Style

Abbas, A.; Tabassum, I.; Vohra, S.; Weiskirchen, R.; Shoukat, A.; Afzal, M.K.; Ijaz, A.; Anees, N.; Chaudhary, A.A.; Alhudhaibi, A.M. Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications. Antioxidants 2026, 15, 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15070839

AMA Style

Abbas A, Tabassum I, Vohra S, Weiskirchen R, Shoukat A, Afzal MK, Ijaz A, Anees N, Chaudhary AA, Alhudhaibi AM. Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications. Antioxidants. 2026; 15(7):839. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15070839

Chicago/Turabian Style

Abbas, Asad, Iqra Tabassum, Saeed Vohra, Ralf Weiskirchen, Areesha Shoukat, Muhammad Khurram Afzal, Adan Ijaz, Nimra Anees, Anis Ahmad Chaudhary, and Abdulrahman Mohammed Alhudhaibi. 2026. "Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications" Antioxidants 15, no. 7: 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15070839

APA Style

Abbas, A., Tabassum, I., Vohra, S., Weiskirchen, R., Shoukat, A., Afzal, M. K., Ijaz, A., Anees, N., Chaudhary, A. A., & Alhudhaibi, A. M. (2026). Momordica charantia L.: Nutritional Composition, Advanced Extraction Methods, Phytochemistry, Molecular Mechanisms and Industrial Applications. Antioxidants, 15(7), 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15070839

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