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 ...
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, Afr ...
(''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 ...
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 () and
5,22-stigmasteryl glucoside ().
[ It is a whitish crystalline substance, neutral and tasteless, melting at 266–268 °C. It is
sparingly soluble in water][ or other highly polar solvents, 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 w