Molecular diversity and hypoglycemic polypeptide-P content of Momordica charantia in different accessions and different seasons.

BACKGROUND: Momordica charantia (MC) has been used for treating diabetes mellitus from ancient times in Asia, Africa and South America. There are many MC accessions in local markets. Polypeptide-P as a main hypoglycemic component in MC was first studied in this experiment to illustrate the different contents in MC of different accessions and different harvesting times. RESULTS: Nineteen MC accessions collected from different regions were clustered into three groups using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) molecular markers. Content of polypeptide-P in the tested MC accessions was detected by western blot (WB) method. The WB results revealed that polypeptide-P was detected in MC accessions harvested in June and July but not in September and October. Furthermore, Polypeptide-P content corresponded well with the MC accessions. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the MC accessions and the harvesting times or the weather during harvest play significant roles in high content of polypeptide-P.