Garcinia Cambogia

Garcinia Cambogia

Other names: Garcinia, Malabar Tamarind, Brindle berry.

Description:

Small pumpkin-like fruit native to Southeast Asia and Africa.

Mechanism of action:

The rind of Garcinia cambogia contains a chemical called hydroxycitric acid (HCA). It is thought that HCA promotes weight loss via its effect on lipogenesis, appetite suppression via serotonin, and fat absorption.

HCA inhibits adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase enzyme which converts citrate to citrate to acetyl coenzyme A and oxaloacetate which contributes to lipogenesis. Thus, suppression of this enzyme HCA prevents de novo fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis, thereby alleviating subcutaneous and visceral fat deposition and causing weight loss.

HCA raises the level of serotonin in the brain and suppresses appetite and food intake.

HCA also improves fat and carbohydrate metabolism by suppressing intestinal absorption of fat.

Common indications/uses:

Weight loss

Athletic performance

Dosing:

Garcinia 1500-5000 mg/day

HCA 900-2800 mg/day

Evidence:

Weight loss: A 2020 systematic review examining eight trials of Garcinia cambogia supplementation and its relationship with obesity revealed a nonlinear association between Garcinia cambogia dosage and change in body weight. Despite this, the study revealed that Garcinia cambogia had a significant effect on body weight (-1.34 kg), BMI (-0.99 kg/m²), percentage of fat mass (-0.42%), and waist circumference (-4.16 cm).

Athletic performance: In a study examining HCA consumption and glycogen stores, results revealed that HCA supplementation can effectively increase the rate of glycogen storage formation in skeletal muscle. This translates to athletic performance as glycogen stores typically take greater than 1 day to be replete, thus accelerated glycogen repletion may be advantageous for training in endurance athletes [3].

Safety concerns:

Liver injury

Serotonin toxicity

Adverse reactions:

There have been multiple case reports connecting Garcinia cambogia and liver injury and hepatotoxicity, with some cases leading to fulminant hepatic failure requiring liver transplantation. Due to these reported effects, the FDA has wanted against using products containing Garcinia cambogia.

Minor adverse effects include headache, nausea, upper respiratory tract symptoms, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Drug interactions:

SSRIs: Garcinia cambogia may increase serotonin concentrations; thus, it may synergistically interact with serotonin reuptake inhibitors further increase serotonin concentrations, potentially leading to serotonin toxicity.