E m I S

Issue No. 15
August 2012
Our bitter gourd smiley faces
remind us that a smile will get us
through any bitter day.
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OUTPUT 2 and 3 – Germplasm Evaluation and Factorial Studies
Dr. Mamta Pathak of Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, India reported a very good bitter gourd season. Photos
from her trial can be found in the June issue of BiG News. Presently the data are being collected on various horticultural
characteristics from this season’s trial.
In Bangkok, Thailand, our Cucurbit breeder, Dr. Narinder Dhillon and his team have been growing bitter gourds in the
AVRDC-East and Southeast Asia Regional Office field to train farmers in bitter gourd cultivation. His model is used as a
demonstration for our multi-location trials. In this issue, Dr. Dhillon provided us with a step-by-step picture brief on
bitter gourd growing. Thank you Dr. Dhillon and your team!
Newsletter Contact: jen.luoh@worldveg.org
Newsletter Contact: jen.luoh@worldveg.org
© 2012 Bitter Gourd Project.
Issue No. 15
Bitter Gourd Project NEWS
August 2012
Growing Bitter Gourd 101
Step 5: Fix the rope (upper and lower
ends) and move the plastic net to other
end
Step 1: Bed preparation
Step 3: Bamboo fixing – Vertical (2.5 m
between bamboo sticks) and horizontal
Step 6: Tie up (blue rope) the net at
various points on the vertical and
horizontal bamboos
Step 2: Mulching
Step 4: Slip thin plastic rope in the ends of
the plastic net bundle
Step 7: Make hole (2 m apart) in plastic
with hot iron device
Finally, here is a picture of a bitter gourd field waiting for harvest!
Newsletter Contact: jen.luoh@worldveg.org
Step 8: Make small hole below the big one
for post planting fertilizer placement
© 2012 Bitter Gourd Project.
Issue No. 15
Bitter Gourd Project NEWS
August 2012
OUTPUT 4 – Efficacy Studies
Animal Trial
On August 23rd, Dr. Sandra Habicht and Ms. Hsin-I Wang started the bitter gourd treatment of the mice in the
animal center. The three weeks of high fat diet treatment prior to the bitter gourd treatment were successful
and high fat diet-fed mice gained more weight than the low fat diet mice.
PTP 1B activity was measured in liver and muscle samples from the first animal trial (January and February
2012) by the Taiwanese summer student Ms. Shu-yu Cheng (Iris). Iris worked with AVRDC-Nutrition in
Shanhua, Taiwan from July 1st to August 31st under the supervision of Dr. Sandra Habicht. Upon completion of
her research at the Center, Iris gave a short presentation titled, “Does bitter gourd inhibit PTP 1B activity in
diabetic mice?” on August 30th at AVRDC-HQ as part of the Undergraduate Interns’ Seminar Series. Iris will be
returning to her undergraduate studies in Nutrition at the Taipei Medical University in September.
In Pictures:
1. Iris giving her
presentation
during the AVRDC
Undergraduate
Interns’ Seminar
2. (Left to right):
Iris, Ms. Lydia Wu
(AVRDC – Training
Coordinator), and
Mr. Yen-ting Tung
(Robert) - trainee
at AVRDCNutrition
1
2
Dietary Strategies
Ms. Jessica Louie completed her 5 weeks internship at
AVRDC-Nutrition. Before leaving, she presented her research
in a seminar at AVRDC-HQ on August 17th on the topic of
“Evaluating the effect of food preparation, processing, and
storage on the anti-diabetic activity of bitter gourd”. She
compared anti-diabetic effects of different cooking methods
of the bitter gourd in cell culture. First results indicate that
the processing does influence the quantity of bioactive
compounds and anti-diabetic effectiveness.
In Pictures:
1
Newsletter Contact: jen.luoh@worldveg.org
1. Jessica receives her AVRDC Undergraduate Internship Completion
Certificate from AVRDC Deputy Director General of Research, Dr. Jacqueline
Hughes
© 2012 Bitter Gourd Project.
Issue No. 15
Bitter Gourd Project NEWS
1
2
August 2012
While Jessica has completed her research, she established a
protocol for extracting bitter gourd compounds that will be
used by Mrs. Gomathi Kannusamy (Avinashilingam
University for Women, India) and Ms. Gloria Damian Salla
(Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Tanzania) in their
study conducted at AVRDC-Nutrition in Shanhua, Taiwan.
Both Gomathi and Gloria will research the anti-diabetic
properties of bitter gourd that has been processed using
cooking methods popular in Indian and Tanzanian cuisine.
They will continue to develop bitter gourd recipes that
maximize nutrient value and anti-diabetic properties.
In August, Gomathi and Gloria finished preparing samples of
four cooking methods: Raw (soaked in water for 30 minutes);
Boiled; Pan-fried; Braised and Stewed. These samples were
prepared in three replications and will be used to analyse
anti-diabetic and antioxidant effects.
In Pictures:
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4
5
6
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Newsletter Contact: jen.luoh@worldveg.org
1. Weighing 5 kg of bitter gourd
2. The bitter gourds are then cut, weighed, and separated into 300 g
portions for different cooking methods
3. Gomathi adds a measured amount of cooking oil while she heats
up the pan
4. Gloria puts bitter gourds into boiling water
5. After cooking, the bitter gourds are chilled in a container put in ice
to room temperature to stop the cooking process
6-8. Samples are then blended and put into beakers to be frozen at
-70°C before continuing with the extraction process
© 2012 Bitter Gourd Project.