title: Strategies to improve palatability and increase consumption intentions for Momordica charantia (bitter melon): a vegetable commonly used for diabetes management.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although beneficial to health, dietary phytonutrients are bitter, acid and/or astringent in taste and therefore reduce consumer choice and acceptance during food selection. Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon has been traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to treat diabetes and its complications. The aim of this study was to develop bitter melon-containing recipes and test their palatability and acceptability in healthy individuals for future clinical studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional sensory evaluation of bitter melon-containing ethnic recipes was conducted among 50 healthy individuals. The primary endpoints assessed in this analysis were current consumption information and future intentions to consume bitter melon, before and after provision of attribute- and health-specific information. A convenience sample of 50, self-reported non-diabetic adults were recruited from the University of Hawaii. Sensory evaluations were compared using two-way ANOVA, while differences in stage of change (SOC) before and after receiving health information were analyzed by Chi-square (χ2) analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our studies indicate that tomato-based recipes were acceptable to most of the participants and readily acceptable, as compared with recipes containing spices such as curry powder. Health information did not have a significant effect on willingness to consume bitter melon, but positively affected the classification of SOC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that incorporating bitter foods in commonly consumed food dishes can mask bitter taste of bitter melon. Furthermore, providing positive health information can elicit a change in the intent to consume bitter melon-containing dishes despite mixed palatability results.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metabolic Disorders and Alternative Medicine, Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), CTAHR, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.
authors.forename: Laura S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Snee
authors.forename: Vivek R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Nerurkar
authors.forename: Dian A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dooley
authors.forename: Jimmy T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Efird
authors.forename: Anne C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Shovic
authors.forename: Pratibha V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Nerurkar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029777:Momordica charantia; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts