Where is it found:

The tree grows in various parts of Asia, and its fruit is very popular as a food, spice, and medicine in India and Malaysia (Small, 2012).

Parts of the plant used:

The fruit, which contains approximately 30% hydroxycitric acid (HCA), as its main bioactive constituent.

How is it used?

The fruit is edible and nutritious. Various commercial dietary supplements contain GC and or a variety of other ingredients, usually taken as pills or capsules.

What is it used for?

In Indian traditional medicine, the fruit rind (pericarp) is used to treat rickets, enlargement of the spleen, as well as skeletal fractures (Khare, 2007).

Currently various dietary supplements contain GC and or a variety of other ingredients that have a purported effect on weight loss.

Semwal et al (2015) undertook an extensive review of the use of GC  and mention that GC extracts, as well as the its main ingredient contained in the fruit rind, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), showed anti-obesity actions including decreased food intake and body fat gain by regulating the serotonin levels related to satiety, increased fat oxidation and diminished lipogenesis. HCA is a powerful inhibitor of adenosine triphosphate-citrate lyase, an enzyme necessary for the conversion process of citrate to acetyl-coenzyme A, which plays an important role in the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Regarding its potential toxicity of the fruit, the reviewers mention that currently, a large number of Gc/HCA weight loss supplements are commercially available and that the potential toxicity linked to the continuous use of these products has raised concerns. The authors state that in most cases of toxicity have been associated to formulations containing various ingredients, while GC has not been positively confirmed as the toxic agent.

Fassina et al. (2015) conducted a literature review regarding the efficacy and safety of Garcinia cambogia (GC) regarding weight loss. The authors observed that the findings of various articles reviewed were contradictory, as some stated that GC showed positive effects on the parameters of weight loss, appetite reduction, body fat percentage, lipogenesis, triglycerides, cholesterol and glucose levels, while others showed no effect. The authors of the review concluded that while some studies suggest positive results regarding the effectiveness of GC on weight reduction, the ideal dose of the plant has not been well established. Furthermore, they observed that the findings mentioned scant evidence of adverse effects. For this reason, further controlled research is warranted in order to confirm GC’s efficacy and safety regarding weight loss.

Marquez et al. (2012) evaluated the safety and efficacy of GC extracts or its main component, (HCA), in humans. The authors mention that although numerous studies have found that the administration of GC extracts is associated with decreased fat as well as weight loss in both human and animals, caution should be observed when interpreting the results, since other randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies have not reported the same positive result. Furthermore, none of the studies has shown whether these effects continue after 12 weeks of intervention. The authors conclude that there is scant evidence to back the potential effectiveness and long-term benefits of using GC extracts for weight loss.

Gato-González and Laguna-Francia (2016), mention that GC supplements used as adjunctive therapy for obesity have the advantage of not acting on the central nervous system (CNS). Additionally, they state the that GC may be the best alternative regarding weight loss for those people who gain weight after smoking cessation or because they eat in-between meals. Furthermore, the researchers mention that GC may have a protective effect on the lining of the stomach and therefore protect against ulcers produced by certain medications known as NSAID’s (non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), as well as alcohol.