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America. Cerasee also grows wild in Asia where it is used medicinally, and as a vegetable. Thefruits, leaves, seeds and roots have also been used for a range of conditions. Bitter melon is usedto treat diabetes, intestinal colic, peptic ulcers, worms, malaria, constipation, dysmenorrhea,eczema, gout, jaundice, kidney stone, leprosy, leucorrhoea, piles, pneumonia, psoriasis,rheumatism, chickenpox, measles and scabies. Externally, bitter melon is used for the rapidhealing of wounds.A tea made of the vine is used for diabetes, hypertension, worms, dysentery, malaria and as ageneral tonic and blood purifier. It is also very effective to relieve constipation and colds andfevers in children. Women in Latin American and the West Indies use the leaf for menstrualproblems to promote discharge after childbirth.In Brazil, cerasse tea is used as a tonic and remedy for colds, fever and pains due to arthritis andrheumatism. In Curacao and Aruba, the tea is used to lower blood pressure. In the Philippines,bitter melon is cultivated as a vegetable and cooked like other leafy vegetables. In Cuba, ceraseetea is used as a remedy for colitis, liver complaints, fever and as a skin lotion. A tea of the root isused to expel kidney stones. In India, the green, unripe fruits are soaked in water and cooked incurry and other dishes. The juice of the ripe fruit, which contains valuable enzymes and minerals,is taken for diabetes.Active constituents in bitter melon include glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, fixed oils, triterpenes,proteins and steroids. The hypoglycemic constituents are a mixture of steroidal saponins knownas charantins, insulin-like peptides and alkaloids. These constituents are concentrated in the fruitswhich have also been shown to have the most pronounced hypoglycemic activity compared toother plant parts. Several other phytochemicals including momorcharins, momordenol,momordicins, cucurbitins, cucurbitacins have been isolated from the bitter melon. It also containsHIV inhibitory proteins code named MRK29 as well as trypsin, elastase and gyanylate cyclaseinhibitors and lectins.Antifertility:However, toxicity and even death in laboratory animals has been reported when extracts areinjected intravenously or intraperitoneally (with the fruit and seed demonstrating greater toxicitythan the leaf or aerial parts of the plant). Other studies have shown ethanol and water extracts ofthe fruit and leaf (ingested orally) to be safe during pregnancy. The seeds, however, havedemonstrated the ability to induce abortions in rats and mice, and the root has been documentedwith a uterine stimulant effect in animals. The fruit and leaf of bitter melon has demonstrated anin vivo antifertility effect in female animals; in male animals, it was reported to affect theproduction of sperm negatively. Bitter melon traditionally has been used as an abortive and hasbeen documented with weak uterine stimulant activity; therefore, it is contraindicated duringpregnancy. This plant has been documented to reduce fertility in both males and females andshould therefore not be used by those undergoing fertility treatment or seeking pregnancy. Theactive chemicals in bitter melon have shown in animal studies to be transferred through breastmilk; therefore, it is contraindicated in women who are breast feeding.Alloxan-induced DiabetesDiabetes mellitus can be induced in animals by partial pancreatectomy or by the administration ofdiabetogenic drugs such as alloxan, streptozotocin, ditizona and anti-insulin serum. These agentsselectively destroy the β-cells of the Langerhans islet. Alloxan, an oxidized product of uric acid,is one of the most commonly used models of experimental diabetes.20