Charantin is a chemical substance obtained from the
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
n
bitter melon
''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon; Goya; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Afri ...
(''Momordica charantia''), reputed to be responsible for the
hypoglycaemic properties of those plants. It was identified by Lolitkar and Rao in 1960.
It was also found in the similar
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n species ''
M. foetida'', by A. Olaniyi in 1975, under the name foetidin.
Charantin is actually a 1:1 mixture of two
steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...
al
saponin
Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...
s,
β-sitosteryl glucoside
A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes.
The name was o ...
() and
5,22-stigmasteryl glucoside ().
[ It is a whitish crystalline substance, ]neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
and tasteless, melting at 266–268 °C. It is
sparingly soluble in water[ or other highly ]polar solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for p ...
s, as well as in apolar solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
s like hexane
Hexane () is an organic compound, a straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms and has the molecular formula C6H14.
It is a colorless liquid, odorless when pure, and with boiling points approximately . It is widely used as a cheap, relatively ...
, but is soluble in ether
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...
, ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
and methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
, and can be efficiently extracted from the plant by pressurized ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
or acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
at 100 °C.
The name charantin has also been used by A. Parkash and other for a different compound, a peptide
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides.
A ...
with molecular mass 9.7 kDa, also isolated from bitter melon
''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon; Goya; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Afri ...
seeds.
See also
* Charantoside Charantoside is any of several related cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosides found in the fruits bitter melon vine (''Momordica charantia''). They include:
* charantoside I, (19R,23E)-5β,19-Epoxy-19-methoxycucurbita-6,23,25-trien-3β-ol 3-O-β-D-glu ...
* Goyaglycoside Goyaglycoside is any of several related triterpenoid glycosides found in the fruits bitter melon vine (''Momordica charantia''), called ''goya'' in Okinawan language. They include:
* goyaglycoside c.
* goyaglycoside d.
Goyaglycosides c and d can ...
* Karaviloside Karaviloside is any of several related cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosides found in bitter melon vine (''Momordica charantia'').Toshihiro Akihisa, Naoki Higo, Harukuni Tokuda, Motohiko Ukiya, Hiroyuki Akazawa, Yuichi Tochigi, Yumiko Kimura, Takashi ...
* Momordicoside Momordicoside is any of several related cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosides that can be extracted from the bitter melon vine (''Momordica charantia'').Toshihiro Akihisa, Naoki Higo, Harukuni Tokuda, Motohiko Ukiya, Hiroyuki Akazawa, Yuichi Tochigi, ...
References
{{Reflist
Phytosterols
Steroidal glycosides
Saponins