Garcinia Cambogia (Hydroxycitric Acid)

Garcinia Cambogia and its principle acid, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), are used to promote weight loss and enhance exercise performance.  It also has been reported that garcinia cambogia reduces appetite, inhibits fat synthesis and decreases body weight without stimulating the central nervous system (1).  According to hydroxycitric acid weight loss studies, garcinia cambogia supplementation particularly enhanced the exercise performance of women by increasing their body's metabolism of fat (2, 3).  Clinical trials also support suggestive results that garcinia cambogia can serve as an effective and safe weight-loss formula by reducing BMI while promoting healthy blood lipid levels (1, 4).  Due to insufficient research, there is no scientific evidence that clearly recommends dosage.  However, sufficient available evidence exists that suggests hydroxycitric acid is safe for human consumption when the rind of garcinia cambogia is eaten orally and at levels up to 2,800 mg per day (5, 6).  Human clinical trials also show that garcinia cambogia has been well tolerated up to 12 weeks.  Persons with a known hypersensitivity or allergy to garcinia cambogia should exercise caution as well as people taking oral hypoglycemic agents, patients with Alzheimer's or dementia syndromes, or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Garcinia cambogia's hydroxycitric acid combined with statin medications may increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis (7).

 
Garcinia Cambogia Overview

Garcinia cambogia is a diminutive purple fruit native to India and Southeast Asia with a rind rich in hydroxycitric acid (HCA).  HCA promotes weight loss through suppression of appetite; the acid inhibits enzyme reactions, which are required for fatty acid synthesis and lipogenesis (5, 8).  Hydroxycitric acid's inhibition of extramitochondrial enzyme ATP citrate lyase was first identified in the late 1960s.  Despite its high acidity content, there are no reports to suggest that the routine consumption of garcinia cambogia, which is still common in coastal areas of South Asia, causes either acute or chronic toxicity.  While the majority of modern evidence on garcinia cambogia is preliminary, experts continue to confirm and refine their research.

 
Garcinia Cambogia References

1. Preuss HG, Bagchi D, Bagchi M, et al. Effects of a natural extract of (-)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA-SX) and a combination of HCA-SX plus niacin-bound chromium and Gymnema sylvestre extract on weight loss. Diabetes Obes Metab 2004;6(3):171-180.
2. Lim K, Ryu S, Nho HS, et al. (-)-Hydroxycitric acid ingestion increases fat utilization during exercise in untrained women. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2003;49(3):163-167.
3. Kriketos AD, Thompson HR, Greene H, et al. (-)-Hydroxycitric acid does not affect energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in adult males in a post-absorptive state. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999;23(8):867-873.
4. Mattes RD, Bormann L. Effects of (-)-hydroxycitric acid on appetitive variables. Physiol Behav 2000;71(1-2):87-94.
5. Heymsfield SB, Allison DB, Vasselli JR, et al. Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 1998;280(18):1596-1600.
6. Soni MG, Burdock GA, Preuss HG, et al. Safety assessment of (-)-hydroxycitric acid and Super CitriMax, a novel calcium/potassium salt. Food Chem Toxicol 2004;42(9):1513-1529.
7. Mansi IA, Huang J. Rhabdomyolysis in response to weight-loss herbal medicine. Am J Med Sci 2004;327(6):356-357.
8. Jena BS, Jayaprakasha GK, Singh RP, et al. Chemistry and biochemistry of (-)-hydroxycitric acid from Garcinia. J Agric Food Chem 2002;50(1):10-22.