Geetha R.V et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2011,4(5),1464-1466 Review Article Available online through ISSN: 0974-6943 http://jprsolutions.info cambogia (Malabar Tamarind): A Pharmacological Review Geetha R.V1* Lakshmi .T2, Anitha Roy 1Department of Microbiolgy , Saveetha Dental College, Velappanchavady, Ch-77 2Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College,Velappanchavady,Ch-77 Received on: 02-02-2011; Revised on: 08-03-2011; Accepted on:12-04-2011 ABSTRACT World Health Organization has recommended that traditional and folk medicine systems has proved to be more effective in health problems worldwide Garcinia cambogia. is certain to emerge in the near future as a major player in the growing field of herbal health supplements and medicines both in daily self-care and in professionally managed health care system.The principal constituents of G.cambogia are , Hydroxy citric acid ,Garcinol, isogarcinol and cyanidin. All the parts of G.cambogia and its chemical constituents are used as anti-tumor, antiinflammatory, anti obesity, antifungal, antibacterial, hypoglycaemic, anti oxidant and anti ulcerogenic activity. This article compiles all the information related to G.cambogia. Key words: Garcinia cambogia , Anti obesity ,Anti ulcerogenic activity , Hydroxycitric acid,Garcinol ,Iso garcinol ,Cyanidin.

INTRODUCTION : 1-10 Herbal medicine has become an integral part of standard healthcare, based on a combina- Distribution: SE Asia, West and Central Africa, tion of time honoured traditional usage and ongoing scientific research. Burgeoning interest in medicinal herbs has increased scientific scrutiny of their therapeutic potential 11 1 Description : and safety There is great demand for herbal medicine in the developed as well as Garcinia cambogia is a flowering evergreen tree, with drooping branches. The fruit is developing countries like India, because of their wide biological activities, higher safety 2 yellow, oval in shape and resembles small pumpkins. Garcinia is part of the same family of margin than the synthetic drugs and lesser costs .Some of the medicinal are as ; the fruit is harvested, dried and ground into a powder.Garcinia has believed to enhance the natural resistance of the body to infections .The medicinal garnered a lot of attention of late as a popular natural weight loss aid. The reason is that properties of plants have been investigated in the light of recent scientific developments the rind of this pumpkin like fruit is rich in a substance called hydroxycitric acid / HCA. throughout the world due to their potent pharmacological activities and low toxicity. Herbal medicine deals with plants and plant extracts in treating diseases. These medicines Plant Parts Used: Fruit rind are considered safer because of the natural ingredients with no side effects.3,4 Garcinia cambogia is a moderate-sized, evergreen tree and the flowers are unisexual, sessile and History :12 axillary. The leaves are dark green, shining, elliptic to obovate. It bears sweet-sour mixed In Ayurveda, it is said that the sour flavors, such as those from Garcinia, activate digestion. fruits native to SE Asia and India. The fruit may resemble a small yellow or reddish Garcinia has also been considered to make foods more filling and satisfying, and has been pumpkin, or it may have a unique purple color. The fruit of Garcinia cambogia has been used routinely for many centuries with no known toxicity. This herb has been used traditionally used in food preparation and cooking, having a distinctive taste. The bark is historically in India to support the treatment of various health conditions. given as a decoction, is used to treat rheumatism and gastrointestinal disorders. In veterinary medicine, we use this decoction for treating oral diseases of livestock. Habitat: This medicinal herb is native to India and Southeast Asia, West and Central Africa. It is Garcinia cambogia fruit extract containing the principle organic acid (-)-erythro-Ls- commonly found in moist area. This medicinal plant grows up to 5000 feet of hydroxycitric acid, is one such herbal preparation that has been used traditionally in altitude. Humid or hot climate is favorable. This herbal plant is found in South Western treating ulcers, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhoids, tumours and also as an antimicrobial Coast of India. agent 5Garcinia cambogia extract contains the principle organic acid (-)-erythro-hydroxycitric 6 acid (HCA) significantly increased the production of glycogen in the liver The increased Whole Plant part Description :13 production of glycogen and the concomitant stimulation of glucoreceptors. in the liver, 7 Its perennial tree is evergreen and medium to large in size. The height ranges from 10 to results in early satiety through signals sent to the brain via the vagus nerve . HCA 15 meter. The stem is hard wooded. Monsoon is the time for propagation and transplan- induces inhibition of lipid biosynthesis and diverts the metabolism of carbohydrate tation. towards glycogen production in the liver thereby controlling the appetite 8 and HCl output. HCA present in the fruit rind has been speculated to possess antiulcerogenic The Leaves: potential. A related species of the Guttiferae family, Garcinia mangostana Linn., contain- Leaves are dark green above and pale beneath. Leaves are oblong or ovate or lanceolate. ing the active principle mangostin, a xanthone present in the fruit rind has been reported The entire plant gives a conical shape. to have an antiulcer property 9 The carbohydrate: protein (C:P) ratio serves as a good indicator of gastric mucosal defence and an increase represents augmented mucosal protec- 10 The Flowers: tive activity . A near normal C:P ratio was observed in indomethacin pylorus ligated rats Hermaphrodite cream colored flowers are found in clusters. Winter is the flowering season. (group VI) pretreated with Garcinia cambogia, which indicates its mucoprotective prop- erty . Garcinia cambogia is a small, sweet, exotic fruit native to South India and The Fruits: Southeast Asia. Garcinia has garnered a lot of attention of late as a popular natural weight Its solitary fruit is pumpkin like. The color of the fruit is yellow or reddish or purple. loss aid. Garcinia is a source for a revolutionary natural diet ingredient which is currently Fully ripe fruit is too acidic or sour to eat fresh. The rind of the fruit has HCA, the a rage in America, Japan, Europe, and other western countries. biochemical with acclaimed with weight loss capacity. Fruit is simple and fleshy or berry. Fruit measures 3-4 cm in breadth and 4-6 cm in length. Summer is the fruition period. Scientific classification :( Table No :1) Unripe fruit is green from outside and white from inside. Ripe fruit is purple or red from Kingdom: Plantae outside and white from inside. There are many seeds within the fruit. Division: Angiosperms Sub division: Order: Family: Subfamily: Clusioideae Tribe: Garcinieae Genus: Garcinia species cambogia Botanical Name: Garcinia cambogia, garcinia gummi-gutta Latin Name: Garcinia cambogia Vernacular Names: Brindle berry, brindall berry, garcinia, malabar tamarind, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), citrin, gambooge, gorikapuli, uppagi, garcinia kola, oil tree. Synonyms: Gutta gamba. Gummigutta. Tom Rong. Gambodia. Garcinia Morella. *Corresponding author. Geetha R.V, Assistant professor Department of Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College, Velappanchavady CH-77 Fig : 1 Garcinia cambogia Leaves and Fruit. Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.4.Issue 5. May 2011 1464-1466 Geetha R.V et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2011,4(5),1464-1466 various ailments: -Skin disorders (rash by allergies, burns), - To relieve the heat or sunburn, - Remedy effective against dysentery, - Tumors, - From the mucous diarrhoea, - As an appetite suppressant, - Tonic for liver - Improve digestion, - Anti fungal activity - As cardiotonic, - Heart problems, - Anti-ulcerogenic,

Pharmacological Actions :

Anti helmenthic activity :20 The traditional use of fruits of G. cambogia as an antihelmintic have been proved as the fresh juice and crude ethanolic extract showed potent anthelmintic activity against Indian earth worm. Anti helmenthic activity is noted by determining the paralysis and time of death of Pheretima postuma (earth worms ) Preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, alkaloids, glycosides,flavonoids and triterpenoids Fig : 2 Garcinia cambogia Leaves like phytoconstituents in the extracts of the leaves of Garcinia cambogia may be respon- sible for showing anti helmintic activity.

Anti Diabetic activity:21-23 Garcinia cambogia rind extracts posses potent anti diabetic activity. The study was investigated in normal and obese streptozotocin induced diabetic rats and was found to produced significant reduction in glucose level, lipid profile and body weight.

Anti Obesity activity :24-35 Garcina cambogia is potent herbal medicine for the management of Obesity.(-)-Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is a compound found in Garcinia cambogia, a type of fruit. HCA has a chemical structure similar to that of citric acid (the primary acid in citrus fruits).Preliminary research in the laboratory and in animal research, suggests that HCA may be a useful weight loss aid.24, 25 HCA has been demonstrated that HCA has been demonstrated in the laboratory (but not yet in trials with people) to reduce the conversion of carbohydrates into stored fat by inhibiting certain enzyme processes.26, 27 Animal research indicates that HCA suppresses appetite and induces weight loss.28, 29, 30, 31.

One case report found that eating 1 gram of the fruit containing HCA before each meal resulted loss of 1 pound in the per day. 32 A double-blind trial that provided either 1,500 mg of HCA or a placebo per day to 135 overweight men and women, who also were on a calorie-restricted diet, found after 12 weeks that the HCA supplementation did not produce a significant change in weight loss.33 Uncontrolled and/or preliminary evidence from several other human trials suggests the possibility that weight loss might occur;34 however, Fig : 3 Garcinia Cambogia Fruit none of these studies is as methodologically strong as the negative trial previously mentioned. These less-rigorous studies used a similar calorie-restricted diet and a similar Method for collection of the Resin: amount of HCA as the negative trial. However, the double-blind study used a high-fibre In order to obtain the gum-resin incisions are made into the tree, or a large slice is pared diet not used in the prior studies. It has been suggested that such a diet might limit from the bark, from which the juice flows thick, viscid, and bright-yellow, which is absorption of HCA.35 scraped off and dried in the sun. If left on the tree, it speedily concretes into dry tears or irregular masses. Future studies that measure blood levels of HCA (to check whether or not the supplement was absorbed) are necessary to resolve this issue. At the present time, the effectiveness of 1. Ceylon cambogia:- It is generally collected, by making incisions into the bark, into HCA for weight loss remains unclear and unproven. which bamboo joints are inserted to catch the oozing fluid, which subsequently solidifies. It is removed from the bamboo by slowly rotating them over a fire until the water has dried Anti obesity and Haematological Effects:36,37 out sufficiently to allow the receptacle to be detached from the hardened cambogia. The anti-obesity and erythropoietic effects of crude ethanolic extracts of Garcinia cambo- gia (bitter kola) seeds on Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were investigated. The rats were 2. Pipe cambogia:- The best kinds are the pipe cambogia, consisting of cylindrical divided into three dosage groups: A (0 mg/kg of body weight), B (200 mg/kg) and C (400 pieces, often cohering together, forming irregular masses weighing several pounds. mg/kg). Weight changes, plasma lipoprotein levels and the lipid profile of the liver, gastrointestinal system and adipose tissue were monitored as indices for anti-obesity, Phyto Chemical Constituents : 14,15 while the RBC (red blood cell) count (assessed by using a haemocytometer) was moni- The phyto chemical constituent present are citric acid lactone, Ascorbic acid,tartaric acid tored as a measure of erythropoiesis. The extract was administered by gavage for 5 weeks. ,malic acid ,Garcinol, isogarcinol ,cyanidin and Xanthone.The latex of Garcinia cambo- The results for each test group was compared statistically with those for the control gia contains two polyisoprenylated benzophenone derivatives, camboginol (I) and cambogin (P<0.05). Analysis of the results showed a significant increase in RBC counts in both test (II). groups and a decrease in weights of experimental animals. There was a dose-dependent decrease in the plasma level of very-low-density lipoprotein and a dose-dependent increase Chemistry: 15 in the level of chylomicrons. There was a slight, but significant, decrease in the level of The major phytoconstituents in Garcinia cambogia is Hydroxycitric acid. This principal high-density lipoprotein and a significant increase in the level of LDL (low-density acid has been found to suppress the fatty acid synthesis, lipogenesis, food intake, and lipoprotein). There was significant dose-dependent decrease in the TAG (triacylglycerol) promotes glycogenesis, gluconeogenesis and induced weight loss pool of adipose tissue and the liver of the test groups, but a significant increase in the TAG pool of the gastrointestinal system. The increase in the TAG pool of the gastrointestinal Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics : system is possibly compensatory. The results therefore confirm that ethanolic extracts of Garcinia Cambogia fills the glycogen stores in the liver and other tissues, thereby G. cambogia seeds have both haematologically enhancing and anti-obesity effects. The reducing appetite while increasing energy levels. Garcinia Cambogia lowers the produc- decrease in the high-density-lipoprotein level and an increase in the LDL level may play tion of triglycerides and cholesterol and may also increase thermogenesis, the burning of an important role in cardiovascular disease. calories. Unlike chemical stimulants commonly used in weight loss products, Garcinia Cambogia does not act on the central nervous system. This means that Garcinia Cambo- Anti Ulcerogenic activity: 6-8 gia will not cause insomnia, nervousness, changes in blood pressure or heart rate and its Garcinia cambogia extract is found to increase the mucosal defensive mechanisms in effectiveness will not diminish with time. stomach and thereby it is helpful as a protective agent against Gastric ulcers. The rats that were pretreated with this herbal supplement was found with decreased acidity and Therapeutic Uses :16-19 increasedmucosa lprotectivefactors.The G. cambogia extract was given in the dose of 1 Garcinia cambogia has been used traditionally in India to support the treatment of gm/kg of body weight/day for 5 to 10 to 15 days to rats. This study tested the herbal Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.4.Issue 5. May 2011 1464-1466 Geetha R.V et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2011,4(5),1464-1466 extract effect with Indomethacin (20 mg/kg/day) induced ulcerogenic effect. This supple- 5. Warrier et al., 1995 Indian Medicinal plants Orient Longman Ltd; Madras: 3 ,59-61. ment reduced both the volume and acidity of gastric juice. Beside this effect on acid, the 6. Sullivan et al., 1974 the influence of HCA on In vivo rats of hepatic glycogenesis,Lipogenesis and CholesterogenesisFed proc 33:656. supplement showed promotion of defensive factors on gastric mucosa.Garcinia cambogia 7. Harvey Anderson,1994 Regulation of food intake.In modern nutrition in health and disease 8th extract which contains the principle organic acid (-)-erythro-hydroxycitric acid (HCA) edition ,Shils ME,Olsan JEA,shike M.(eds)Lea & Febiger:Philadelphia 524-536 significantly increased the production of glycogen in the liver .The increased production 8. Sullivan and Gruen, 1985 mechanism of apetite modulation by drugs Fed Proc 44:139-144 of glycogen and the concomitant stimulation of glucoreceptors in the liver, results in early 9. Shankaranarayan et al 1979 pharmacological profile of mangoosteen & derivatives.Arch Int satiety through signals sent to the brain via the vagus nerve .HCA induces inhibition of Pharmacodyn Ther 239:257-269. 10. Venkataranganna et al., 1998 Evaluation of possible mechanism of anti ulcerogenic activity lipid biosynthesis and diverts the metabolism of carbohydrate towards glycogen produc- UL 409 A herbal preparation .J of Ethno pharmacology 63:187-192. tion in the liver thereby controlling the appetite and HCl output. In the present study, 11. B.S. Jena; G.K. Jayaprakasha; R.P. Singh; K.K. Sakariah. J. Agricul. Food Chem., 2002, 50(1), HCA present in the fruit rind has been speculated to possess antiulcerogenic potential. A 10-22. related species of the Guttiferae family, Garcinia mangostana Linn., containing the active 12. S.E. Ohio; C.A. Opere; A.M. LeDay; M Bagchi; D Bagchi; S.J. Stohs. Mol. Cell. Biochem.2002, 238, 89-103. principle mangostin, a xanthone present in the fruit rind has been reported to have an 13. J.A. Duke; M.J. Bogesnschutz-Godwin; J. duCellier; P.A.K. Duke. Handbook of Medicinal antiulcer property .The carbohydrate: protein (C:P) ratio serves as a good indicator of Herbs 2nd ed., Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2002, 481 gastric mucosal defence and an increase represents augmented mucosal protective activity 14. Singh.R..P et al 1995 biological memories volume 21(1) pp 27-33 . A near normal C:P ratio was observed in indomethacin _ pylorus ligated rats (group VI) 15. Unekazu Iinuma*b, Tetsuro Itob, Ryoko Miyakeb, Hideki Tosab, Toshiyuki Tanakab and Veliah Chelladurai A xanthone from Garcinia cambogia Phytochemistry, March 1998, Pages 1169- pretreated with Garcinia cambogia, which indicates its mucoprotective property 1170. 16. True Health. Weight loss herbs. Fact and fiction. 2003.[http://www.truhealth.com/new_times_ Potential Side Effects of Garcinia Cambogia: 1102.html]. There are no known side effects for using this herb, however, it is not recommended for 17. MM Mackeen; AM Ali; NH Lajis; K Kawazu; H Kikuzaki; N Nakatani. Z Naturforsch ©,Mar- diabetics or people suffering any dementia syndrome, including Alzheimer’s and in Apr, 2002, 57(34), 291-295. 18. CK Ho; YL Huang; CC Chen. Planta Med, 2002, 68(11), 975-979. pregnant and lactating women. Garcinia cambogia does have contraindications with 19. MH Pan; WL Chang; SY Lin- Shiau; CT Ho; JK Lin. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 2001, 29(3),1464- certain medications, and it is important to discuss this with your health care professional. 1474. 20. Veeradass Rajendran et al Invitro anthelmintic activity of fresh juice and ethanolic extract of CONCLUSION: Garcinia cambogia Annals of Biological Research, 2011, 2 (2):50-53 21. Patil et al. effect of polyherbal formulation in obesity associated diabetes Int J Pharmacy and Garcinia Cambogia is a fruit named Malabar tamarind that is used in India, Pakistan and Pharm Sci, Vol 2, Issue 3, 180186. Sri Lanka, both as a food and a medicine. Citrin is a commercial fruit extract from the rind 22. P. Mahendran, A. J. Vanisree and C. S. Shyamala Devi.The Antiulcer Activity of Garcinia of this fruit. Garcinia Cambogia’s rind is rich in the substance hydroxy citric acid, which cambogia Extract Against Indomethacin Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats Phytotherapy Re- is helpful for weight control. It suppresses the appetite and induces weight loss through search Phytother. Res. 16, 80–83 (2002) 23. Asha Koshy S., Vijayalakshmi N.R. Impact of certainflavonoids on lipid profile, Phytotherapy thermogenic action.Garcinia, also known as Garcinia Cambogia or Mangosteen Oil and Research 2001,15(5):395-400. tree, contains a biologically active compound which is known to inhibit the synthesis of 24. Lowenstein JM. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on fatty acid synthesis by rat liver in vivo. J Biol lipids and fatty acids and lower the formation of LDL and triglycerides. Garcinia also Chem1971;246:629–32. contains significant amounts of Vitamin C and has been used as a heart tonic. Research 25. Triscari J, Sullivan AC. Comparative effects of (-)-hydroxycitrate and (-)-allo-hydroxycitrate suggests that this natural extract may also inhibit the conversion of excess calories to on acetyl CoA carboxylase and fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis in vivo. Lipids 1977;12:357– 63. body fat. Additionally, appetite is also suppressed by promoting synthesis of glycogen. 26. Cheema-Dhadli S, Harlperin ML, Leznoff CC. Inhibition of enzymes which interact with Glycogen is the stored form of glucose, one of the body’s primary sources of energy. citrate by (-)hydroxycitrate and 1,2,3,-tricarboxybenzene. Eur J Biochem 1973;38:98–102. Increased glycogen production and storage is the body’s normal way of signalling the 27. Sullivan AC, Hamilton JG, Miller ON, et al. Inhibition of lipogenesis in rat liver by (-)- brain’s satiety centre that enough food has been eaten. With its anti-inflammatory, hydroxycitrate. Arch Biochem Biophys 1972;150:183–90. 28. Greenwood MRC, Cleary MP, Gruen R, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on development of antiulcerogenic, lipid-lowering and fat oxidation properties, Garcinia may be helpful in obesity in the Zucker obese rat. Am J Physiol 1981;240:E72–8. treating various gastrointestinal disorders, balancing cholesterol levels and burning body 29. Sullivan AC, Triscari J. Metabolic regulation as a control for lipid disorders. Am J Clin fat, as well as stabilizing agent. From the Review of Literature It can be concluded as Nutr 1977;30:767–768. Garcinia is a very effective herbal medicine for controlling obesity and cholesterol. 30. Sullivan AC, Triscari J, Hamilton JG, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation of lipid in the rat. I. Lipogenesis. Lipids 1974;9:121–8. 31. Sullivan AC, Triscari J, Hamilton JG, et al. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: of lipid in the rat. II. Appetite. Lipids 1974;9:129–34. My Heart felt Thanks to My Colleague,Mrs.Lakshmi,Sr.Lecturer ,Pharmacology ,Saveetha 32. Sergio W. A natural food, Malabar Tamarind, may be effective in the treatment of obesity. Med Dental college & Hospitals,Chennai-77 for providing me valuable assistance regarding Hypotheses1988;27:39–40. the preparation of the manuscript. 33. Heymsfield SB, Allison DB, Vasselli JR, et al. Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent. JAMA 1998; 280:1596–600. 34. Seroy S. Response to JAMA HCA report. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Feb/Mar REFERENCES: 1999:120–1 [letter/review]. 1. Calixto, J.B., 2000. Efficacy, Safety, Quality Control, Marketing and Regulatory Guidelines for 35. Badmaev V, Majeed M, Conte AA. Garcinia cambogia for weight loss. JAMA 1999;282:233– Herbal Medicines (Phytotherapeutic Agents).Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res.,33(2):179-189. 4 [letter]. 2. Gadre, A.Y., D.A. Uchi, N.N. Rege and S.A. Daha, 2001. Nuclear Variations in HPTLC 36. Lowenstein JM. Experiments with (-)hydroxycitrate. In: Burtley W, Kornberg HL, Quayle Fingerprint Patterns of Marketed Oil Formulations of Celastrus Paniculates. Ind. J. of Pharma- JR, eds. Essays in Cell Metabolism. New York: Wiley. cology, 33: 124-45. 37. Kayode Alaba Oluyemi1,*, Idowu O. Omotuyi2, Olusegun R. Jimoh3, Olamide A. Adesanya1, 3. Clouatre and Rosenbaum, 1994,The diet and health benefits of Hydroxy citric acid:keats Chia L. Saalu1, Sunday J. Josiah2Erythropoietic and anti-obesity effects of Garcinia cambogia publishing : New york :23-28. (bitter kola) in Wistar rats Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry Volume 46, Issue 1, pages 4. Clouatre and Rosenbaum, 1994, The diet and health benefits of Hydroxy citric acid:keats 69–72,January 2007. publishing : New york :31-32. Source of support: Nil, Conflict of interest: None Declared

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.4.Issue 5. May 2011 1464-1466