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Article: The (not so) bitter truth: examining the potential of bitter melon as a functional food ingredient.(Ingredients)
- Article from:
- Food Engineering & Ingredients
- Article date:
- April 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Don't let the name deceive you. Bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd or by its scientific name Mormordica charantia, may be just what the doctor ordered, especially for those at risk for diabetes. Widely consumed in Asia, this tropical vegetable has been shown by a number of biomedical studies to have anti-diabetic properties.
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To discover the next trend in functional foods, it is sometimes useful to take a look at what is going on around the world. Several new health-promoting food products in the Philippines, for example, are based on ampalaya--otherwise known as charantia, bitter melon or bitter gourd. While the latter names ...