Garcinia Cambogia Extract

Overall Health Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia Extract

• Improves blood sugar levels [1-4]
• Promotes weight loss [4-14]
• Improves cholesterol levels [15-18]
• Treats kidney stones [19-24]
• Treats age-related eye degeneration [25]

How Garcinia Cambogia Extract Works

Garcinia cambogia contains the chemical hydroxycitric acid, which prevents fat storage, controls appetite, improves exercise endurance, and suppresses inflammation. This is the reason why this superfruit is used for conditions like obesity, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions.

Proven Health Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia Extract

Improves Blood Sugar Levels

Evidence suggests that Garcinia cambogia has anti-diabetic properties:

1. In diabetic Wistar rats, administration of Garcinia cambogia extract and significantly ameliorated hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) as evidenced by a decrease in HbA1c. [1]
2. In diabetics, treatment with Garcinia cambogia reduced the dosage of metformin, a medication for high blood sugar levels. [2]
3. A study found that Garcinia cambogia can help prevent diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication of diabetes. [3]
4. In overweight and obese subjects, Garcinia cambogia supplementation reduced blood sugar levels. [4]

Promotes Weight Loss

An overwhelming body of research supports the benefits of Garcinia cambogia on weight loss:

1. In people with overweight or obesity, administration of Garcinia cambogia reduced fat mass and visceral fat. [4]
2. A cell study found that Garcinia cambogia suppressed fat cell formation and enhanced fat breakdown. [5]
3. In obese patients, the combination of Garcinia cambogia and orlistat (a weight loss medication) significantly reduced visceral adiposity index (VAI). [6]
4. In rats, Garcinia cambogia reduced food intake by increasing the levels of the brain chemical serotonin. [7]
5. In liver cells harvested from chickens, hydroxycitric acid from Garcinia cambogia suppressed fat accumulation by accelerating energy metabolism. [8]
6. In obese rats fed with a high-fat diet, supplementation with a mixture of the aqueous extract of Garcinia cambogia reduced the accumulation of visceral fat mass. [9]
7. In mice fed with a high-fat diet, dietary intervention with probiotics and Garcinia cambogia extract prevented weight gain and reduced the size of fat cells. [10]
8. In subjects aged 20 to 65 years with a visceral fat area, administration of Garcinia cambogia for 12 weeks reduced abdominal fat accumulation. [11]
9. Studies found that Garcinia cambogia exerts its anti-obesity effects through multiple mechanisms such as decreasing metabolic fat formation, increasing fatty acid oxidation, suppressing obesity-related genes, and reducing insulin and leptin levels. [12-14]

Improves Cholesterol Levels

Evidence also suggests that Garcinia cambogia can help lower high cholesterol levels:

1. In rats, oral administration of Garcinia cambogia fruit extract (1 g/kg body weight/day) significantly reduced the levels of low density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). [15]
2. In obese patients, supplementation with standardized extracts of Garcinia cambogia over a 12-week period significantly reduced cholesterol levels. [16]
3. In overweight individuals, Garcinia cambogia supplementation for 10 weeks increased the levels of high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol). [17]
4. In rats, oral administration of Garcinia cambogia at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight/day for 10 weeks reduced high cholesterol levels induced by a high-fat diet. [18]

Treats Kidney Stones

There’s a good deal of evidence supporting the therapeutic efficacy of Garcinia cambogia on kidney stones:

1. In Drosophila (fruit flies) kidney stone models, administration of food containing different concentrations of Garcinia cambogia removed calcium oxalate kidney stones. [19-23]
2. In rats with experimentally induced kidney stones, Garcinia cambogia prevented calcium oxalate crystal formation in the kidney tubules. [24]

Treats Age-Related Eye Degeneration

A study found that Garcinia cambogia can protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye disease that causes vision loss. [25] In this study, mice were fed with Garcinia cambogia extract and hydroxycitric acid. Researchers found that both treatments reduced the symptoms of AMD.

References:

1. Available from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/2979760/#abstract.
2. Chen TH, Tsai MJ, Fu YS, Weng CF. The Exploration of Natural Compounds for Anti-Diabetes from Distinctive Species Garcinia linii with Comprehensive Review of the Garcinia Family. Biomolecules. 2019;9(11):641. Published 2019 Oct 23. doi:10.3390/biom9110641.
3. Bystrak T, Cervera-Hernandez ME, Reddy N, King Z, Bratberg J. Garcinia Cambogia, Diabetic Ketoacidosis, and Pancreatitis. R I Med J (2013). 2017 Oct 2;100(10):48-50. PMID: 28968624.
4. Maia-Landim A, Ramírez JM, Lancho C, Poblador MS, Lancho JL. Long-term effects of Garcinia cambogia/Glucomannan on weight loss in people with obesity, PLIN4, FTO and Trp64Arg polymorphisms. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018;18(1):26. Published 2018 Jan 24. doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2099-7.
5. Sharma K, Kang S, Gong D, Oh SH, Park EY, Oak MH, Yi E. Combination of Garcinia cambogia Extract and Pear Pomace Extract Additively Suppresses Adipogenesis and Enhances Lipolysis in 3T3-L1 Cells. Pharmacogn Mag. 2018 Apr-Jun;14(54):220-226. doi: 10.4103/pm.pm_388_17. Epub 2018 Apr 10. PMID: 29720835; PMCID: PMC5909319.
6. Al-Kuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI. Effect of orlistat alone or in combination with Garcinia cambogia on visceral adiposity index in obese patients. J Intercult Ethnopharmacol. 2016;5(4):408-414. Published 2016 Aug 22. doi:10.5455/jice.20160815080732.
7. Ohia SE, Awe SO, LeDay AM, Opere CA, Bagchi D. Effect of hydroxycitric acid on serotonin release from isolated rat brain cortex. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2001 Mar-Apr;109(3-4):210-6. PMID: 11758650.
8. Li L, Peng M, Ge C, Yu L, Ma H. (-)-Hydroxycitric Acid Reduced Lipid Droplets Accumulation Via Decreasing Acetyl-Coa Supply and Accelerating Energy Metabolism in Cultured Primary Chicken Hepatocytes. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2017;43(2):812-831. doi: 10.1159/000481564. Epub 2017 Sep 28. PMID: 28954258.
9. Kim YJ, Kim KY, Kim MS, Lee JH, Lee KP, Park T. A mixture of the aqueous extract of Garcinia cambogia, soy peptide and L: -carnitine reduces the accumulation of visceral fat mass in rats rendered obese by a high fat diet. Genes Nutr. 2008 Feb;2(4):353-8. doi: 10.1007/s12263-007-0070-1. PMID: 18850230; PMCID: PMC2478482.
10. Heo J, Seo M, Park H, Lee WK, Guan LL, Yoon J, Caetano-Anolles K, Ahn H, Kim SY, Kang YM, Cho S, Kim H. Gut microbiota Modulated by Probiotics and Garcinia cambogia Extract Correlate with Weight Gain and Adipocyte Sizes in High Fat-Fed Mice. Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 23;6:33566. doi: 10.1038/srep33566. PMID: 27658722; PMCID: PMC5034228.
11. Hayamizu K, Ishii Y, Kaneko I, et al. Effects of garcinia cambogia (Hydroxycitric Acid) on visceral fat accumulation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2003;64(8):551-567. doi:10.1016/j.curtheres.2003.08.006.
12. Watson and J. M. Lowenstein , Citrate and the conversion of carbohydrate into fat. Fatty acid synthesis by a combination of cytoplasm and mitochondria, J. Biol. Chem., 1970, 245 , 5993 —6002.
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14. Semwal RB, Semwal DK, Vermaak I, Viljoen A. A comprehensive scientific overview of Garcinia cambogia. Fitoterapia. 2015 Apr;102:134-48. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2015.02.012. Epub 2015 Feb 27. PMID: 25732350.
15. Mahendran P, Devi CS. Effect of Garcinia cambogia extract on lipids and lipoprotein composition in dexamethasone administered rats. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2001 Jul;45(3):345-50. PMID: 11881574.
16. Vasques CA, Rossetto S, Halmenschlager G, Linden R, Heckler E, Fernandez MS, Alonso JL. Evaluation of the pharmacotherapeutic efficacy of Garcinia cambogia plus Amorphophallus konjac for the treatment of obesity. Phytother Res. 2008 Sep;22(9):1135-40. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2323. PMID: 18729243.
17. Kim JE, Jeon SM, Park KH, et al. Does Glycine max leaves or Garcinia Cambogia promote weight-loss or lower plasma cholesterol in overweight individuals: a randomized control trial. Nutr J. 2011;10:94. Published 2011 Sep 21. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-10-94.
18. Sripradha R, Sridhar MG, Maithilikarpagaselvi N. Antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities of the ethanolic extract of Garcinia cambogia on high fat diet-fed rats. J Complement Integr Med. 2016 Mar;13(1):9-16. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2015-0020. PMID: 26595408.
19. Abdel raheem A, Alowidah I. A commentary on “Optimal management of large proximal ureteral stones (>10mm): A systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials” (International Journal of surgery. 2020 July, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.06.025). Int J Surg. 2020;83:218-219.
20. Han S, Zhao C, Pokhrel G, Sun X, Chen Z, Xu H. Hydroxycitric Acid Tripotassium Inhibits Calcium Oxalate Crystal Formation in the Drosophila Melanogaster Model of Hyperoxaluria. Med Sci Monit. 2019;25:3662-3667. Published 2019 May 17. doi:10.12659/MSM.913637.
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