Bitter melon transformation
Indeed, the purpose of Chyuan Jong-ho’s arduous efforts in breeding bitter melons has not been merely to produce varieties for eating, but also especially to meet the needs of research institutions.
It all started when the National Science Council began implementing the National Science and Technology Program for Agricultural Biotechnology, which ran from 2005 to 2011. At first they invited various academic institutions, including National Taiwan University and China Medical University, to research crops like yam and Taiwan jewel orchid in hopes of developing herbal medicines and health supplements. Bitter melon was included in the program starting in 2006, when studies began into its potential for modulating blood sugar levels, reducing hyperlipidemia, and combating cancer. However, because the varieties and sources of the bitter melons that research institutions purchased at vegetable markets for their experiments were inconsistent, sometimes the extracts were efficacious, and sometimes they were not, thereby impacting the validity and reliability of the research.
Therefore at the request of the research institutions, the HDARES began supplying them with bitter melons of reliable quality, of the same variety, and grown and harvested at the same time, for their research.
With the support of the NSC program, academic institutions have done a great deal of research on substances extracted from bitter melon, and have already been granted more than 46 patents with respect to production processes and health effects.
For example, in ten years of research Cheng Hsueh-ling, a professor in the Department of Biological Science and Technology at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, discovered through experiments on cell cultures and on mice that triterpenoids and saponins purified from the vines and fruit of Hualien No. 2 and the similar Okinawa bitter melon can reduce insulin resistance in cells, indicating that bitter melon has the potential to be developed into a health supplement to combat Type 2 diabetes.
Meanwhile Professor Hsu Hsue-yin of the Department of Life Sciences at Tzu Chi University has for the past ten years been using substances extracted from bitter melon for research on cancer cell lines. She has discovered that a certain ingredient has the effect of inhibiting growth of cancer cells.
The results achieved by research teams under the NSC program suggest a bright future for the bitter melon. This is why the HDARES research team has focused its development efforts on breeding “health-protecting” bitter melon varieties.
This especially applies to Hualien No. 4, for which Chyuan Jong-ho’s team was granted plant variety rights in 2008, and No. 5, which they completed development of in 2010. Both are varieties that the HDARES began to breed in 2002. Though unprepossessing in appearance—with their fat and short shape, and dark green skin with a knobbly, serrated surface—they both prove that “you can’t tell a gourd by its cover.” Tests by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute and other bodies have shown that these two bitter melon varieties are suitable for development into health supplements.
Chyuan says that Hualien No. 4 and No. 5 both display “heterosis” (a.k.a.“hybrid vigor”), which reminds one of the common saying that “the first generation of mixed-blood children are smarter.” They are high-yielding varieties with high nutritional value.
Dr. Davis Liu, general manager of the Aquavan Technology Company, which exclusively licensed plant variety rights for Hualien No. 4, notes that the company uses “supercritical fluid extraction” technology to extract substances from Hualien No. 4 and purify them. They have already developed various health supplements that boost bodily functions, which they sell in the US and mainland China. They have also developed and tested pharmaceutical products derived from bitter melon, for which they are currently seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as applying for patents worldwide.
If it proves possible to develop an anti-cancer drug from the Hualien No. 4 bitter melon, this will be a historic use of a native plant as the basis for a plant-based medicine, and the future prospects for the bitter melon will be unbounded.
HDARES associate researcher Chyuan Jong-ho has devoted huge efforts to bitter melon breeding, boosting the plant’s economic value in diverse ways.
Dr. Davis Liu, general manager of Aquavan Technology, notes that the company uses “supercritical fluid extraction” technology to develop all kinds of bitter melon health supplements.
Aquavan Technology tests the quality and purity of bitter melons grown by farmers under contract.
The deep green “Hualien No. 4” bitter melon variety, which is short and plump in shape and has a very bitter taste, is suitable for developing health supplements. (courtesy of Chyuan Jong-ho)
The Hualien No. 2 and No. 6 bitter melon varieties grown by the Chi-Lai Green Land organic farm under the direction of general manager Cai Zhifeng have no pesticide residues, so they can be eaten raw in salads, and can also be used as raw material for health supplements and pharmaceuticals. (photo by Jimmy Lin)