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About Bittermelons
| Name- Momordica charantia
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Family- Cucurbitaceae.
It is available in China,Vietnam, Thailand, India .
Bittermelon is a long cylinders 4 to 12 inches in length and 1 and ½ to 3
inches in diameter. It is little bumpy in Chinese variety. It contains with large seeds inside.
Its general uses:
It is used in Chinese and Indian Cooking. It tastes very bitter. It is considered
as a blood purifier. It can be cut into rings and deep fried for a snack. Also can
be stir fried cooked with any meat, shrimps and fish.
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Synonyms : |
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Sanskrit :
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Karavella, Kathilla
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English :
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Bitter Gourd
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Assamese :
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Kakiral, Kakral
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Bengali :
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Karolla
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Gujrati :
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Karela
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Hindi :
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Karela
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Kannada :
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Hagalakai
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Malayalam :
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Kaippa, Pavackkai
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Marathi :
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Karla
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Oriya :
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Kalara, Salara
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Punjabi :
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Karla
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Tamil :
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Paharkai
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Telugu :
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Kaakara Kaaya
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Urdu :
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Karela
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Geographical Distribution
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Momordica charantia is perennial climbers cultivated throughout India and in southern China and is now found naturalized in almost all tropical and subtropical regions. . It is an important vegetable in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and southern China. It is also cultivated on a small scale in tropical America.
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Plant Facts : Momordica charantia is a herbaceous, tendril-bearing vine grows up to 5 m. It bears simple, alternate leaves, with 3–7 deeply separated lobes. Each plant bears separate yellow male and female flowers. Fruit 2.5 - 25 cm long, oblong, pendulous, fusiform, usually pointed or beaked, ribbed and bearing numerous triangular tubercles, 3 valved at the apex when mature.
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Parts Used : Fresh green fruits of the plant
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CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS : The fruits and leaves a steroidal saponin called charatin and fruits contain a cathartic principle called momordicin. It also contains a polypeptide named gurmarin, which is similar to insulin in composition. It also contain Ascorbic acid, carbohydrates, alkaloids, glucoside, saponin and mucilage.
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