Background:

Momordica charantia is a vine, native to tropics and subtropics that has found use in herbal medicine. In Nigeria, the plant is locally used in the treatment of diabetes.

Objective:

To investigate the inhibitory effect of terpenoid-rich extract from Momordica charantia on α-glucosidase activity.

Method:

The inhibitory effect of the terpenoid-rich extract from Momordica charantia on the activity of alpha-glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as the determination of the mode of inhibition were investigated using in vitro assay methods.

Results:

The results revealed that the terpenoid-rich extract had a high IC50 of 1.60 mg/mL. The Lineweaver-Burk plot revealed that the extract exhibited partially mixed-type inhibition of α-glucosidase.

Conclusions:

It can be inferred from this study that although terpenoid-rich extract inhibited α-glucosidase, further purification will be necessary on the extract so as to increase its potency as an inhibitor of α-glucosidase. The action of the extract on α-glucosidase provided an insight into the probable mechanism of action of Momordica charantia in reducing hyperglycemia.

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