Ampalaya which is commonly called bitter melon or bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) or maraguso in waray, apalya in pampango and paliya in bisaya was believed by some Filipinos and even people from outside of the Philippine to have a healing power against diabetes. Ampalaya is said to be the best anti-hyperglycemic herbs and claimed to be proven itself beyond doubt as an effective medicine against diabetes. Ampalaya has a potent mix of flavanoids and alkaloids that are believed to make the Pancreas either produce more insulin, make the body more sensitive to insulin already produced, and/or generate new beta cell populations at the Islets of Langerhans. The marketing of ampalaya herbal medicine as a cure to diabetes does not only flourish in the Philippines but also reach a global scope.

Ampalaya came into the picture because it is being touted to lower blood sugar. However, the Department of Health (DOH) in the previous years banned any commercials and advertisements promoting the use of herbal capsule made from ampalya as an ‘alternative, safe, and an efective medicine’ to diabetes. According to them, there is no scientific studies and basis proving ampalaya as a cure to diabetes. It doesn’t even receive a favorable finding from the US Food and Drug Administration approving the drug for sale to the public. The DOH Secretary at that time countered that the only study on ampalaya had only 27 subjects and while it showed a decrease in blood sugar, it did not decrease fasting blood glucose. Due to sample size limitations, the findings have not been able to establish ampalaya as truly beneficial and even as an adjunctive treatment to diabetes.

Although, all concerns agreed that amplaya is a good “food supplement”, until there is no concrete scientific basis and international approval to ampalaya as a good nature’s cure to diabetes, there will be still contradictions among them.

additional readings
inq7.net/opi/2003/sep/09/opi_nhcruz-1.htm
diabetesherbal.com/
inq7.net/opi/2003/sep/08/opi_nhcruz-1.htm