Momordicilin or 24- ′-hydroxy,1′-methyl-2′-pentenyloxylursan-3-one is a chemical compound, a

triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of terpenes composed of six isoprene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of three terpene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the pre ...

with formula , found in the fresh fruit of the

bitter melon ''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon, cerassee, goya, bitter apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam-pear, karela, karavila and many more #Uses, names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitac ...

(''Momordica charantia'').Sabira Begum, Mansour Ahmed, Bina S. Siddiqui, Abdullah Khan, Zafar S. Saify, and Mohammed Arif (1997), ''Triterpenes, a sterol and a monocyclic alcohol from Momordica charantia.'' Phytochemistry, volume 44, issue 7, pages 1313-1320 The compound is soluble in

ethyl acetate Ethyl acetate commonly abbreviated EtOAc, ETAC or EA) is the organic compound with the formula , simplified to . This flammable, colorless liquid has a characteristic sweet smell (similar to pear drops) and is used in glues, nail polish removers, ...

and

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane (often abbreviated as TCM), is an organochloride with the formula and a common solvent. It is a volatile, colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to refrigerants and po ...

but not in

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

. It crystallizes as needles that melt at 170−171 °C. It was isolated in 1997 by S. Begum and others.

References

Triterpenes Cyclic ketones Pentacyclic compounds Hemiketals {{Biochem-stub

See also

References