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Garcinia Cambogia
Description: Garcinia cambogia is a small, sweet, purple fruit, also called the Malabar tamarind. This fruit contains Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), a derivative of citric acid. Test-tube and animal research suggests that HCA may be helpful in weight loss because of its effects on metabolism. However, the results are not all conclusive.

Useful in treatment of: Obesity; Animal studies have shown that HCA can suppress appetite and thereby encourage weight loss.1–5 It is thought to work by interfering with the body’s ability to produce and store fat.6–9 One large human trial showed no benefit over placebo in patients that followed a low calorie diet.10

Dosage: A typical dosage of HCA is 250 to 1,000 mg 3 times daily. Products are often labeled Garcinia cambogia and standardized to contain a fixed percentage of HCA, typically 50%, which is the dosage used in larger studies.

Safety Issues/Contraindications: No serious side effects have been reported from animal or human studies involving either fruit extracts or the concentrated chemical.

References:

1Greenwood MR, Cleary MP, Gruen R, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on development of obesity in the Zucker obese rat. Am J Physiol 240: E72–78, 1981.
2Sullivan AC and Triscari J. Metabolic regulation as a control for lipid disorders. Am J Clin Nutr 30: 767–776, 1977.
3Sullivan AC, Triscari J, Hamilton JG, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation of lipid in the rat. I. Lipogenesis. Lipids 9: 121–128, 1974.
4Sullivan AC, Triscari J, Hamilton JG, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation of lipid in the rat. II. Appetite. Lipids 9(2): 129–134, 1974.
5Sergio W. A natural food, malabar tamarind, may be effective in the treatment of obesity. Medical Hyp 27: 40, 1988.
6Lowenstein JM. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on fatty acid synthesis by rat liver in vivo. J Biol Chem 246(3): 629–632, 1971.
7Triscari J and Sullivan AC. Comparative effects of (-)-hydroxycitrate and(+)-allohydroxycitrate on acetyl CoA carboxylase and fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis in vivo. Lipids 12(4): 357–363, 1977.
8Cheema-Dhadli S, Harlperin ML, and Leznoff CC. Inhibition of enzymes which interact with citrate by (-)hydroxycitrate and 1,2,3,-tricarboxybenzene. Eur J Biochem 38: 98–102, 1973.
9Sullivan AC, Hamilton JG, Miller ON, et al. Inhibition of enzymes which interact with citrate by (-)hydroxycitrate. Arch Biochem Biophys 150: 183–190, 1972.
10Heymsfield SB, Allison DB, Vasselli JR, et al. Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 280(18) 1596–1600, 1998.
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