Taste-Masking Strategies for Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia): A Review of Emerging Techniques for Functional Food Development

Authors: Pooja Yadav; Vipul Kumar

Book: Sustainable Food Innovations: Product Development, Packaging, and Waste Valorization

Editors: K. Prasad, S. Shekhar and H. K. Sharma

Publisher: SLIET Longowal

Publication year: 2026

Publication date: 2026-10-02

ISBN: 978-81-990304-2-8 (e-book); 978-81-990304-3-5 (hardback)

Chapter pages: 145–158

DOI: To be added after DOI registration.

Abstract

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is widely recognized for its antidiabetic, antioxidant, and health-promoting bioactive compounds such as charantin, polypeptide-P, and momordicosides. However, its intense bitterness poses a major barrier to consumer acceptance and industrial application in functional foods. This review provides a comparative evaluation of different taste-masking techniques developed to overcome this limitation, including β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexation, alginate bead encapsulation, hot melt extrusion, coating with natural polymers, and flavour modification approaches. β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) forms host–guest complexes that entrap bitter molecules, while alginate beads prepared by ionotropic gelation act as a physical barrier providing controlled release. Hot melt extrusion approaches a solvent-free and scalable approach for embedding bitter compounds within polymer matrices, whereas coating and flavouring methods enhance sensory masking using natural food-grade materials. The review further discusses key process parameters, characterization techniques, and sensory threshold evaluation methods (such as serial dilution) used to assess masking efficiency. Overall, integrating molecular, matrix, and sensory-based masking techniques presents a sustainable, consumer-acceptable strategy for transforming traditionally bitter phytoconstituents of M. charantia into functional food and nutraceutical products.

Keywords: Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia); Taste Masking; Functional Foods; Bioactive Compounds; Sensory Evaluation

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