Garcinia Cambogia Extract – What You Need to Know

Garcinia Cambogia extract is also known as Malabar Tamarind and has been used as traditional remedy in Asian countries for many years to treat a number of conditions ranging from arthritis to infections. The reason most people reading this have heard of Garcinia Cambogia Extract however, is because of the media hype created after unfounded general claims about its miraculous weight loss properties. Due to the fact that became popular later, many authorities became concerned about the potential side effects of Garcinia Cambogia Extract and questioned how the basic science of using it actually generated a lot of controversy. In this article, we will review Garcinia Cambogia extract, its properties, the science underlying its potential use and side effects.

Garcinia Cambogia – Hydroxycitric Acid

Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is an important component of Garcinia Cambogia and is believed to be responsible for many beneficial effects such as promoting weight loss. The Garcinia Cambogia fruit contains up to 30% HCA. The Garcinia Cambogia Extract supplements are thought to contain up to 60% HCA (some reported as low as 20%) and are a combination of many active ingredients rather than Garcinia Cambogia alone. The quality control of supplements is felt to be a significant concern. HCA is obtained from fruit and isolated or it can be synthesized from citric acid or derived from other sources. In addition, chemicals called xanthones, benzophenones and organic acids and amino acids have been isolated from the Garcinia Cambogia plant.

Garcinia Cambogia and Appetite

A study in rats found that both HCA (hydroxycitric acid) and HCAL (hydroxycitric acid lactone analogue) suppressed appetite and led to weight loss in rats, the extent of which was dose-related. HCAL was felt to be more effective to this regard. Another study in rats found that HCA prevented serotonin reuptake in the brain, similar to the effects of SSRIs, well-known antidepressants.

What about humans? In a study of healthy participants, it was thought that although there was an increased feeling of fullness in those taking Garcinia Cambogia Extract, there was no difference in energy intake between those who did and those who did not take the supplement. However, in another study, of nearly 90 participants, HCA was found to have no significant effect on satiety or appetite.

Conclude: Animal studies show that Garcinia Cambogia extract can suppress hunger, however in humans studies are relatively few and have conflicting results.

Garcinia Cambogia Extract and Obesity

Studies Suggesting a Benefit

I will talk a lot about HCA, as mentioned above which is basically Garcinia Cambodia Extract. Studies performed on rats in the 1970s showed that HCA had some effect in suppressing fat synthesis. To get a bit technical, the proposed mechanism of this is by blocking the first step in fatty acid synthesis, which is the conversion of citrate to acetyl-CoA.

One study looked at 24 overweight men and women, looking at 14 days of HCA taking. The effects compare with the effects of tomato juice. It was found that taking HCA led to a decrease in energy consumption and there was a tendency (not statistically significant) towards a small reduction in body weight. The study design looks good, but the drawback is the small number of patients.

Another study looked at the effect of HCA administration, for 5 days, in untrained women. Several different exercise and metabolic variables are studied. It is suggested that HCA leads to improved exercise performance and increased fat metabolism. Another study looked at the effects of 3 days of HCA administration on overfeeding in 10 lean male subjects. The findings suggest that lipogenesis (the underlying production of fat) may decrease.

A Japanese study investigated the effects of Garcinia Cambogia extract on visceral fat. Visceral fat is the fat that accumulates in the abdominal cavity and the organs higher levels of which are known to be associated with poor outcomes. There were forty-four participants; Research period was 12 weeks for Garcinia Cambogia extract. It was found that those in the Garcinia Cambogia extract group significantly reduced visceral, subcutaneous and total fat areas. There were no significant side effects reported in that study.

Studies Suggesting no Benefit

Some of the studies reported above suggest that Garcinia Cambogia extract may have beneficial effects as anti-obesity treatments. However, this did not happen in all studies. In one study, Garcinia Cambogia extract had no beneficial effects on fat metabolism in endurance trained humans. Another study looking at 10 weeks of Garcinia Cambogia supplementation in humans showed no benefits for weight loss, fat burning or cholesterol profile. This is seen in other studies in humans. The same thing happens with Garcinia Cambogia extract effects on exercise metabolism in humans, contrary to the above-mentioned study, other studies showed no benefits in terms of exercise effectiveness. In this section, I didn’t use up all the research done, instead just trying to provide a selection from a source with good reputation and a balanced view.

Bottom Line: Some human studies suggest that Garcinia Cambogia extract may have some utility as an anti-obesity treatment with beneficial effects on fat metabolism. Other similarly designed studies have found no such effect. It is difficult to draw conclusions due to limitations such as the size and duration of the study. It is important to note even in the case of positive studies, due to the nature of the studies, the findings should be considered hypothesis generation rather than conclusive in any way. That is, larger, well-designed trials are needed before we can try to draw conclusions about clinical benefit.