ARC Journal of Nutrition and Growth Volume 5, Issue 1, 2019, PP 1-5 ISSN No. (Online) 2455-2550 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2455-2550.0501001 www.arcjournals.org ARC Journal of Nutrition and Growth Page | 1 Heavy Metals in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia): Human Health Risk Assessment Chee Kong Yap 1 *, Aziran Yaacob 1 , Mohd Hafiz Ibrahim 1 , Rosimah Nulit 1 , Chee Seng Leow 2 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Humanology Sdn Bhd, 73-3 Amber Business Plaza, Jalan Jelawat 1, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1. INTRODUCTION Oral consumption of metal-contaminated vegetables is of public concern because these bioaccumulated metals could create complicated health problems in the consumers (Khan et al. 2008). According to Ghous et al. (2015), Momordica charantia is a common fruity vegetable besides being used as a traditional medicine in South Asia. It is under the Family: Cucurbitaceae and commonly known as “bitter gourd”. It is an annual and climber plant (Savsatli et al., 2016). Besides being a traditional medicinal plant, it is also a cultural plant. It can adapt well in many ecological conditions (Savsatli and Seyis, 2014), including many tropical and subtropical countries. The bitter gourd is a potential source of enrichment of phenolic compounds (Islam et al., 2011; Gupta et al., 2011). Therefore, it has pharmacological values for many diseases. The fruits of bitter gourd contain laxative, antibilious, emetic and stomachic effects (Arya et al., 2011). Verma (2015) reported that all parts of the bitter gourd are beneficial for human and there is a distribution of elemental concentrations in different parts of the plant while Kosanovicet al. (2009) stated that bitter gourd is an important source of essential Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu and Zn. The objectives of this study were to 1) assess the concentrations of Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in bitter gourd M. charantia from three farming areas of Peninsular Malaysia, and 2) assess the human health risks of the above five metals in the collected bitter gourds. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bitter gourds M. charantia were collected between May and December 2016 from Kg Ara Kuda (Penang), Kuala Ketil (Kedah) and Sg. Rengat, Jerantut (Pahang) of Peninsular Malaysia (Table 1). The samples were kept in clean polyethene bags and transported to the laboratory for further analyses. The identification of the bitter gourd was done based on Chin and Yap (1999), and Prohens and Nuez (2008a, 2008b). In the laboratory, the samples were washed with distilled water to remove soil particles. Later, they were cut into small pieces using a clean knife and were dried in an oven at 60°C for 72 hours days until a constant dry weight. Abstract: Momordica charantia (bitter gourd) were collected between May and December 2016 from Kg. Ara Kuda (Penang), Kuala Ketil (Kedah) and Sg. Rengat, Jerantut (Pahang) of Peninsular Malaysia. The metal concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) the edible fruity bitter gourd ranged from the three farming sites were8.00-16.1 for Cu, 46.0-118 for Fe, 0.18-1.98 for Ni, 0.79-1.46 for Pb and 17.2-46.8 for Zn. For the human health risk assessment via consumption of the bitter gourds, all the target hazard quotient values for Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were below 1.00. This indicated that there were no non-carcinogenic risks of Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn via the consumption of bitter gourds from the three farming sites. However, it is still advisable that regular monitoring of heavy metals in the bitter gourds be conducted in order to check for possible toxicological risks of the bitter gourd consumption. Keywords: Human health risk; Heavy metals; Fruity vegetable *Corresponding Author: Chee Kong Yap, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Email: yapckong@hotmail.com; yapchee@upm.edu.my