In January 2007 then Health Secretary Dr. Francisco T. Duque III reiterating DOH’s endorsement of Ampalaya for diabetics. Beside him is Herbcare Chairman Lito Abelarde.

DOH Confirms Ampalaya’s Hypoglycemic Properties

In October 1995, the DOH issued Circular 168-A declaring its “Sampung Halamang Gamot” which included the Ampalaya as the only one among the 10 that is indicated for Diabetes.

In a review article of various scientific studies about the Ampalaya’s fruits, seeds and leaves, Dr. William Torres,a  Ph.D. in Industrial Pharmacy and  former head of the Philippine FDA, explains that “the results of these studies in laboratory animals and limited experiments in humans sufficiently support the existence of oral hypoglycemic activity in the Ampalaya which supports the use of Ampalaya as an adjunct therapy to diabetes,”

Dr. Torres also said that the scientific studies identified the active ingredients of the Ampalaya unripe fruits, seeds and leaves as Momordicin, Vicine and Polypeptide-p (also referred to as a plant insulin) as responsible for the Ampalaya’s hypoglycemic potency.

A limited clinical trial of Herbcare’s Charantia Ampalaya Tea was conducted by  diabetologists Dr. Ricardo Fernando and Dr. Reynaldo Rosales of St Luke’s Medical Center.  The trial was published in the August 2003 issue of the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine. Drs. Fernando and Rosales concluded that “Ampalaya fruit prepared as a tea is safe, well-tolerated and useful as a dietary adjunct for the treatment of type 2 diabetes”.