Natureisarichsourceofmedicinalplantsandtheirproductsthatareusefulfortreatmentofvariousdiseasesanddisorders.Momordicacharantia,commonlyknownasbittermelonorbittergourd,isoneofsuchplantsknownforitsbiologicalactivitiesusedintraditionalsystemofmedicines.Thisplantiscultivatedinallovertheworld,includingtropicalareasofAsia,Amazon,eastAfrica,andtheCaribbeanandusedasavegetableaswellasfolkmedicine.Allpartsoftheplant,includingthefruit,arecommonlyconsumedandcookedwithdifferentvegetables,stir-fried,stuffedorusedinsmallquantitiesinsoupsorbeanstogiveaslightlybitterflavorandtaste.Theplantisreportedtopossessanti-oxidant,anti-inflammatory,anti-cancer,anti-diabetic,anti-bacterial,anti-obesity,andimmunomodulatoryactivities.Theplantextractinhibitscancercellgrowthbyinducingapoptosis,cellcyclearrest,autophagyandinhibitingcancerstemcells.Theplantisrichinbioactivechemicalconstituentslikecucurbitanetypetriterpenoids,triterpeneglycosides,phenolicacids,flavonoids,essentialoils,saponins,fattyacids,andproteins.Someoftheisolatedcompounds(KuguacinJ,KaravilosideXI,KuguaglycosideC,MomordicosideQ-U,Charantin,α-eleostearicacid)andproteins(α-Momorcharin,RNaseMC2,MAP30)possesspotentbiologicalactivity.Inthepresentreview,wearesummarizingtheanti-oxidant,anti-inflammatory,andanti-canceractivitiesofMomordicacharantiaalongwithashortaccountofimportantchemicalconstituents,providingabasisforestablishingdetailbiologicalactivitiesoftheplantanddevelopingnoveldrugmoleculesbasedontheactivechemicalconstituents.
