It is widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. The fruit is very bitter raw and can be soaked in cold water and drained to remove some of those strong flavors. There are several varieties of bitter gourd, but the two most common are Chinese bitter gourd and Indian bitter gourd. In China, its bitter flavor is
valued and served stir-fried and with soups while in India it is often used in curry or stuffed with spices and fried, It is used as herbal medicine for a long time.