Gambooge: Game-Changer Or Gamble?

The gambooge, also called the gummi-gutta, whence its botanical name Garcinia gummi-gutta (formerly Gardinia cambogia), is also known as the Malabar tamarind, and it even got an English name, the brindle berry.

It’s a fruit that looks like a small pale yellow pumpkin in shape, but it grows on trees and has a taste so sour, that it’s usually used only in cooking, and not eaten raw which makes this writer really want to try it raw now.

Its active phytochemical compound hydroxycitric acid (HCA) rose to popularity as a supplement in the US based on a paid recommendation from Dr. Oz, and then became a controversy as supplements associated with it, were in turn associated with hepatotoxicity (more on this in the “Is it safe?” section below).

What do people use it for?

Simply put: it’s a weight loss supplement.

Less simply put: least interestingly, it’s a mild appetite suppressant:

Safety and mechanism of appetite suppression by a novel hydroxycitric acid extract (HCA-SX) ← this talks more about the biochemistry, but isn’t a human study. Human studies have been small and with mixed results. It seems likely that (as in the rat studies discussed above) the mechanism of action is largely about increasing serotonin, which itself is a well-established appetite suppressant. Therefore, the results will depend somewhat on a person’s brain’s serotonergic system.

We’ll revisit that later, but first let’s look at…

Even less simply put: its other mechanism of action is much more interesting; it actually blocks the production of fat (especially: visceral fat) in the body, by inhibiting citrate lyase, which enzyme plays a significant role in fat production:

Effects of (−)-hydroxycitrate on net fat synthesis as de novo lipogenesis

More illustratively, here’s another study, which found:

❝G cambogia reduced abdominal fat accumulation in subjects, regardless of sex, who had the visceral fat accumulation type of obesity. No rebound effect was observed.

It is therefore expected that G cambogia may be useful for the prevention and reduction of accumulation of visceral fat. ❞

~ Dr. Norihiro Shigematsu et al.

Read in full: Effects of garcinia cambogia (Hydroxycitric Acid) on visceral fat accumulation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

As to why this is particularly important, and far more important than mere fat loss in general, see our previous main feature:

Visceral Belly Fat (And How To Lose It)

Is it safe?

It has shown a good safety profile up to large doses (2.8g/day):

Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of hydroxycitric acid or Garcinia cambogia extracts in humans

There have been some fears about hepatotoxicity, but they appear to be unfounded, and based on products that did not, in fact, contain HCA (and were merely sold by a company that used a similar name in their marketing):

No evidence demonstrating hepatotoxicity associated with hydroxycitric acid

However, as it has a serotoninergic effect, it could cause problems for anyone at risk of serotonin syndrome, which means caution is advisable if you are taking SSRIs (which reduce the rate at which the brain can scrub serotonin, with the usually laudable goal of having more serotonin in the brain—but it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and serotonin syndrome isn’t fun).

As ever, do check with your pharmacist and/or doctor, to be sure, since they can advise with regard to your specific situation and any medications you may be taking.

Want to try some?

We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon

Enjoy!