Our society today...

● Disproportion between calories in vs. calories out

○ Large stable food production and expanded portions
○ Excess calories consumed, not enough expended to balance

Garcinia ●
○ Easy access and cheaply priced processed and energy dense foods

Shift towards sedentary lifestyle

Cambogia
○ More time spent sitting
○ In front of screens, phones, television, etc. with frequent advertisement of food
○ Need for convenience when it comes to meals

What is Obesity? Why should we care? What is Garcinia Cambogia?

Obesity: abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that
may impair health (BMI>30)
The toll of obesity:
● In the US, more than two-thirds of adults are
overweight and one-third is obese (4)
● Estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the US
was $147 billion in 2008 (4)
● Medical costs for people who have obesity is
$1,429 higher than those of normal weight (4)
● Aka “Malabar tamarind”
● A small yellow-green pumpkin fruit native to India
and Southeast Asia
○ Sharp and sour taste
○ Traditionally used to treat digestive issues and
parasites
● Marketed as a “natural” weight loss supplement
● Sold as teas, capsules, extracts, and lotions
○ Most widely produced and bought as capsules
○ But most widely promoted in tea form

Obesity-related conditions include:

● Heart disease
● Stroke
● Type 2 diabetes
● Several types of cancers
● Premature death
 Science behind Garcinia Cambogia
● Active ingredient is Hydroxycitric Acid (supposedly blocks fat and suppresses appetite)
○ HCA inhibits citrate lyase (that the body needs to make fat from carbohydrates) (1)
■ Lowers cholesterol/blood triglycerides
○ Suppresses appetite by increasing serotonin levels
■ Low serotonin levels can lead to depressive behavior and emotional/reactive
eating (1)

For most effective dosage:

● Supplements generally contain 20-60% HCA, but studies have shown supplements with
50-60% HCA may provide most benefit (1)
● Diet may play a role in the effectiveness of Garcinia Cambogia
○ Not effective for high carb/low fat and high fiber diets

Integumentary System Digestive System

● HCA limits the biosynthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol and is found to dose-dependently decreased
lipogenesis in the liver, adipose tissue, and intestine.
Digestion
● A study done on mice in the School of Bioresources and Bioenvironmental Sciences in Okinawa, Japan found
● HCA is bound in potassium or calcium salts for use in supplements
that body lipid percentage was decreased in the HCA group, but the liver lipid content did not differ between ○ This increases product stability
the control and the HCA groups (2) ● The calcium or magnesium salts of HCA are broken down by bile acids and fats in the
gut and bind to fibers, pectins, or other substances (8).
○ Estimated that the epididymal adipose and perirenal adipose tissue weights in the HCA group tended
Absorbability
to be lower than in the control (2).
● Because calcium/magnesium salts are slightly soluble, they are poorly absorbed in the
○ Mice given the diet containing Garcinia cambogia tended to have a reduced total number of digestive tract and often secreted during digestion.
adipocytes, but not significantly (2). ● Peak plasma level of hydroxycitric acid was 8.4 ug/ml two hours after oral
administration of 2 grams of Garcinia cambogia extract (Super Citrimax™) (8).
○ suggesting a limited efficiency of absorption.
● Hydroxycitric acid can also detected in urine after consumption
 Circulatory System
● Commercially available forms of Garcinia Cambogia and HCA may have high
amounts of calcium and potassium. Due to this, people with CVD, hypertension,
or arrhythmias should use these with caution (6)
Garcinia Cambogia supplements may have potential benefits for endurance exercise
● Respiratory exchange and increased swimming time have been seen in
experiments with mice (6)
● Promotion of lipid oxidation thought to be cause
Skeletal System
● Due to the fact that HCA is bound in calcium salts, a lot of companies like to promote and
market that Garcinia Cambogia can improve bone density and bone health
○ However, there is no deeper elaborate research yet demonstrating the effects of Garcinia
Cambogia on bone density and bone health
Muscular System
● HCA supplementation may increase muscle glycogen levels.
○ Due to increased lipid oxidation (7)
● Altered metabolic pathways from HCA supplementation may lead to
increased protein synthesis (7)
Side Effects
● Mild gastrointestinal side effects.
○ Diarrhea, nausea, and flatulence when taken orally
● Several case studies associating the supplement with mania, serotonin
toxicity, hepatotoxicity
● Diets containing different levels of HCA were fed to 6-week-old rats for 92
or 93 days (9).
○ Highest dose of HCA-containing Garcinia cambogia showed
significant suppression of epididymal fat accumulation in developing
male rats; but also caused potent testicular atrophy and toxicity (9).
● In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers about
potential for serious adverse effects associated with the consumption of
hydroxycut, a popular HCA-containing slimming pill. This resulted in the
withdrawal of this supplement from the market (10)
○ 23 adverse health events—including a number of cases of serious
liver damage and one death (11)
Overall...

● Garcinia Cambogia is still a relatively new

supplement, and there is insufficient research to
draw concrete conclusions about its effectiveness
on weight loss definitively.

● Effects and dosage of Garcinia Cambogia and HCA

content is not linear and ambiguous for weight
loss. HCA seems to have more drastic and
significant effects on rat and animal studies than in
humans.