संस्कृत नाम- कारवॆल्लं
Botanical name - Momordica charantia
Description - Hairy climbers. Leaves sub-orbicular, 5 to 7-lobed. Flowers yellow, solitary. Fruit pendulous, fusiform, beaked.
Chemical_Constituents- Leaves and stem contain mordicines I, II, and III, cucurbitane triterpenoids. Fruits contain acylglucosyl sterols, lipids, charantin, beta-sitosterol, glucoside, ascorbigen, free amino acids. Seeds contain alkaloid, glycoside, a semi- drying oil. Fruit and leaves contain two alkaloids, one momordicine, bitter principles cucurbitacins. Plant contains glucoside, a saponin-like substance, a resin, an aromatic oil and a mucilage
Uses - Fruit tonic, stomachic, carminative and cooling; used in rheumatism, gout and diseases of liver and spleen, also in diabetes. Juice of leaves given in bilious affections. Root used in haemorrhoids Leaves are emetic, purgative, antibiotic And anthelmintic, useful in jaundice, leprosy, bilious affections, burning soles and ascariasis It is used in diabetes and shown to be hypoglycemic in rabbits.