YahGarden

Herb library · Herb · Momordica charantia

Bitter melon (cerasee)

A climbing vine with a warty, very bitter fruit. Known as cerasee in the Caribbean, where the leafy vine is boiled into a bitter tea; in India the fruit is cooked as karela; and extracts are sold for blood sugar. Trials in people with type 2 diabetes show small effects at most, from low-quality studies.

Serious warning

LiverTox reports rare but potentially severe effects from bitter melon extracts, including very low blood sugar, coma and seizures, and says it should not be used in pregnancy because it may cause miscarriage.

Traditional use

Known as cerasee in Jamaica. In Trinidad the leafy vine (caraille) is boiled into a bitter tea, used most often as a "cooling" or "cleanser" drink and also for diabetes, high blood pressure, fever and colds. In India the fruit is a vegetable and a traditional remedy: the Sushruta Samhita names Káravellakam among the bitter pot-herbs of its chapter on food and drink. It has been used for diabetes in Asia, Brazil and East Africa. Sold today as capsules, powders and juice. In 1756 Browne found cerasee grown in most gardens around Kingston, Jamaica, where the boiled leaves and a decoction of the plant were given after childbirth.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Type 2 diabetes: a 2012 Cochrane review of four small, high-risk-of-bias trials found no significant difference from placebo or from diabetes drugs and concluded the evidence is insufficient. LiverTox likewise describes only a modest effect on blood sugar in controlled trials, with little or no change in HbA1c.

  • Limited

    A 2019 meta-analysis of 10 trials (1,045 people) found slightly lower fasting glucose and HbA1c than placebo, but rated the evidence low to very low quality and called for larger, better-designed trials with standardized products.

  • Insufficient

    HIV, cancer and the many other traditional uses: LiverTox notes that none of these effects has been shown in clinical trials in people.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • InteractionIt can lower blood sugar. If you take insulin or diabetes medicine, the combination could push your sugar too low; talk with your prescriber first and check your levels.
  • PregnancyLiverTox says bitter melon may cause miscarriage and should not be used in pregnancy, or by women who could become pregnant and are not using reliable contraception.
  • NoteSide effects reported with extracts include stomach discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness and headache. Rare but potentially severe effects include very low blood sugar, coma and seizures.
  • NoteLiverTox has found no published cases of liver injury from bitter melon.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The Vártákam subdues the Váyu and Kapham It has a bitter and pungent taste, is light, relishing and appetising. Matured Vártákam is alkaline (in its taste) and generates the Pittam. The Karkotakam and the Káravellakam are possessed of properties similar to those of the preceding species (Vártákam).”
Sushruta; edited and translated by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna, An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam) (1907), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518. See the page of An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518
“Both these plants are frequently cultivated in Jamaica, and thrive very luxuriantly in most of the gardens about Kingston. The leaves boiled, and the decoction of the plant, are equally used to promote the lochiæ; the former by way of green, the other as an apozem; and are both reckoned very serviceable on those occasions.”
Patrick Browne, The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica (1756), p. 353. See the page of The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, p. 353 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, p. 353
“Browne observes, that both these plants are frequently cultivated in Jamaica, and thrive very luxuriantly in most of the gardens about Kingston”
John Lunan, Hortus Jamaicensis (1814), vol. 1, p. 174. See the page of Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 174 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 174

Sources

  1. Bitter Melon — LiverTox (NCBI Bookshelf) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Momordica charantia for type 2 diabetes mellitus (Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2012) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Momordica charantia L. lowers elevated glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: systematic review and meta-analysis (J Ethnopharmacol, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Trinidad (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2015) — full text on PubMed Central (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Neuroprotective and immunomodulatory efficacy of selected Caribbean medicinal plants: a systematic review (Cureus, 2026) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.