Debittering of bitter gourd juice using β-cyclodextrin: Mechanism and effect on antidiabetic potential

•Completely debitter bitter gourd juice prepared by adding β-cyclodextrin.•Addition of β-cyclodextrin led to slight (10%) reduction in antidiabetic activity.•Total phenolic and antioxidant activity increased due to β-cyclodextrin.•β-Cyclodextrin-momordicosides (bitter components) complexes studied by NMR and FTIR. Triterpene glycosides namely momordicoside K and momordicoside L causes bitterness in bitter-gourd thereby reducing its consumer acceptance. Reducing bitterness of the juice by addition of β-cyclodextrin (0.25–2%) was attempted and its effect on sensory quality, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and antidiabetic potential was evaluated. Juice with 1.5% β-cyclodextrin demonstrated highest score (7.7 ± 0.3) for sensory acceptability compared to the control (3.8 ± 0.7). A significantly (p