WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

Fructus Momordicae
tion with a glucose load resulted in a significant improvement in glucose
tolerance (p < 0.05) without increasing insulin levels in the blood. In addition,
daily consumption of the fried fruit for 8–11 weeks reduced levels
of glycosylated haemoglobin by 8% from baseline (29). However, no randomization,
blinding or proper controls were used in this study.
In another small case-report study (n = 8) an improvement in blood
glucose tolerance and fasting blood glucose levels was observed in male
and female patients (38–50 years of age) with uncomplicated type II diabetes.
Patients were treated with 50 mg/kg bw of the dried fruit powder
twice daily for 1 week (25). In addition, excretion of glucose in the urine
was reduced by day 3 and was completely absent after 7 days of treatment.
Mean post-treatment blood glucose levels were significantly lower
than pre-treatment values. A decrease from 248 mg/dl to 155 mg/dl
(p < 0.001) was observed in treated patients and this difference was considerably
higher after the administration of 60 g of glucose. No adverse
effects were reported.
In a similar case-report study, involving 12 patients with newly diagnosed
type II diabetes, the effect of the crude drug on blood glucose levels
was assessed. Each patient received one of two crude drug preparations.
The first was an aqueous extract prepared by boiling 100 g of the crude
drug in 200 ml of water until the volume was reduced to 100 ml. The second
preparation was dried fruit powder, administered at a dose of 5 g
three times daily. After 3 weeks of treatment the group using the powder
preparation showed a reduced post-prandial blood glucose level of 25%,
but the result was not statistically significant. However, in the group receiving
the aqueous extract, a significant reduction (54%, p < 0.01) in
blood glucose was observed, as well as a reduction in glycosylated haemoglobin
from 8.37% to 6.95% (p < 0.01) (30).
A series of case-reports involving 18 patients with newly diagnosed
type II diabetes assessed the effects of the fruit juice on blood sugar levels
(53). The results of oral administration of 100.0 ml of the fruit juice
30 minutes prior to glucose loading for a glucose tolerance test were compared
with the results of a glucose tolerance test done the previous day
using water as the control test substance. Seventy-three per cent of the
patients showed a moderate or significant improvement in glucose tolerance
test results after taking the fruit juice before the glucose tolerance
test (51). Unfortunately, the study was neither randomized nor blinded,
and the patients’ baseline characteristics were poorly described.
In a clinical study, 22 subjects (12 healthy volunteers and 10 patients
with type II diabetes) were administered a powder of the fruit after which
the serum cholesterol and glucose tolerance were assessed (31). Oral
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