Antibacterial Activity and Antioxidant Properties of Aqueous Extract of Bitter Gourd

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is a tropical vegetable widely cultivated and consumed in many parts of the world. Bitter melon provides health advantages against various disease for better quality of life. It is nutrient dense plant-based food containing different biologically active compounds such as alkaloids, polypeptide, vitamins, and minerals. Owing to presence of biologically active compounds, it has the ability to fight against various lifestyle related disorders, e.g. cancer insurgence, diabetes mellitus, abdominal pain, kidney (stone), fever, and scabies. This study investigated the antibacterial activity and antioxidant properties of aqueous extract of bitter gourd. The extract was tested against two bacterial strains; Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, using the agar well diffusion method. The results showed that the extract exhibited significant antibacterial activity against all two bacterial strains, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 12.5 to 50 μg/mL. The extract also demonstrated antioxidant activity, using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The findings of this study suggest that bitter gourd extract may be a useful natural remedy for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections and oxidative stress-related diseases. Further studies are needed to isolate and characterize the biologically active compounds responsible for the observed activities.