CONTENT OF VITAMIN C AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BITTER GOURD CULTIVARS IN PLASTIC GREENHOUSE

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) fruit has long been used as a food and medicine in tropical and subtropical regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate total vitamin C content, total phenolic content, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2,2′-zinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging (ABTS) assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays in 8 cultivars of bitter gourd in plastic greenhouse located in Jeju Island, Korea. Fruit length and fruit weight ranged from 7.1±0.5 to 37.0±1.9 cm and from 18±2 to 577±95 g, respectively at harvest time. The contents of total vitamin C (112.4±12.0 mg/100 g) and total phenolic content (3.81±0.3 mg/g) were higher in ‘Nakanokoya’ cultivar (large fusiform fruits) compared to other cultivars (long and small fruits) tested bitter gourd. The DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays tends to higher in ‘Nakanokoya’ and ‘Kanzyukoya’ cultivars than others bitter gourd cultivars. Therefore, ‘Nakanokoya’ bitter gourd was the highest in content of vitamin C and antioxidant activities among experimented cultivars in greenhouse cultivation.