The safety and efficacy ofMomordica charantiaL. in animal models of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic hyperglycemic condition due to progressively impaired glucose regulation.Momordica charantiaL. could potentially improve hyperglycemia because its fruit extracts can alleviate insulin resistance, beta-cell dysfunction, and increase serum insulin level. We evaluated the effect ofM. charantiaL. in comparison with a vehicle on glycemic control in animal models of type 2 diabetes mellitus. MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL databases were searched without language restriction through April 2019. About 66 studies involving 1861 animals that examined the effect ofM. charantiaL. on type 2 diabetes mellitus were included. Fruits and seed extracts reduced fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c in comparison to vehicle control: (42 studies, 815 animals; SMD, -6.86 [95% CI; -7.95, -5.77], 3 studies, 59 animals; SMD; -7.76 [95% CI; -12.50, -3.01]) respectively. Also, the extracts have hepato-renal protective effects at varying doses and duration of administration. Despite the observed significant glycemic control effect, poor methodological quality calls for future researches to focus on standardizing extract based on chemical markers and adopt measures to improve the quality of preclinical studies such as sample size calculation, randomization, and blinding.

Automated summary

Momordica charantia L. fruit and seed extracts have shown significant effects in reducing blood glucose levels and providing hepato-renal protective effects in animal models of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, there is a call for future research to focus on standardizing extracts based on chemical markers and improving the overall quality of preclinical studies.