Garcinia gummi-gutta
| Gambooge | |
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| Species: | G. gummi-gutta
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| Binomial name | |
| Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Roxb.
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Garcinia gummi-gutta is a subtropical species of Garcinia native to Indonesia. Common names include Garcinia Cambogia (a former scientific name), as well as gambooge, brindleberry, brindall berry, Malabar tamarind, assam fruit, vadakkan puli (northern tamarind) and kudam puli (pot tamarind). This fruit looks like a small pumpkin and is green to pale yellow in color. Gambooge has recently received considerable media attention because of its purported effects on weight loss, though there is no clinical evidence to support this claim.
Cultivation
Gambooge is grown for its fruit in southeast Asia, coastal Karnataka/Kerala, India and west and central Africa. It thrives in most moist forests.
Gambooge is one of several closely related Garcinia species from the plant family Guttiferae.[2] With thin skin and deep vertical lobes, the fruit of G. gummi-gutta and related species range from about the size of an orange to that of a grapefruit; G. gummi-gutta looks more like a small yellowish, greenish or sometimes reddish pumpkin.[3] The color can vary considerably. When the rinds are dried and cured in preparation for storage and extraction, they are dark brown or black in color.
Along the west coast of South India, G. gummi-gutta is popularly termed "Malabar tamarind," and shares culinary uses with the tamarind (Tamarindus indica). The latter is a small and the former a quite large evergreen tree. G. gummi-gutta is also called "Goraka" or, in some areas, simply "Kattcha puli" (souring fruit).
Uses
Cooking
Garcinia gummi-gutta is used in cooking, including in the preparation of curries. The fruit rind and extracts of Garcinia species are called for in many traditional recipes,[4] and various species of Garcinia are used similarly in food preparation in Assam (India), Thailand, Malaysia, Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. In the Indian Ayurvedic medicine, "sour" flavors are said to activate digestion. In the areas in which it is consumed, many gambooge varieties is considered to be effective in making meals more "filling" due to its nutrient density.[5] The extract and rind of Garcinia gummi-gutta is a curry condiment in India. It is an essential souring ingredient in the Southern Thai variant of kaeng som, a sour curry.
Garcinia gummi-gutta is employed commercially in fish curing, especially in Sri Lanka (Colombo curing) and South India, which makes use of the antibacterial qualities of the fruit.[citation needed]
The trees can be found in forested areas and also are protected in plantations otherwise given over to pepper, spice and coffee production.
Traditional medicine
Aside from its use in food preparation and preservation, extracts of G. gummi-gutta are sometimes used in traditional medicine as purgatives.[citation needed]
Weight loss
In late 2012, a United States television personality, Dr. Oz, promoted Garcinia cambogia extract as a "magic" weight-loss aid. Dr. Oz's previous endorsements have often led to a substantial increase in consumer interest in the promoted products. However, clinical trials do not support claims that Garcinia cambogia is an effective weight-loss aid.[6] A meta-analysis found a possible small, short-term weight loss effect (under 1 kilogram).[7] However, side effects—namely hepatotoxicity—led to one preparation being withdrawn from the market.[8]
A 1998 randomized controlled trial looked at the effects of hydroxycitric acid, the purported active ingredient in gambooge, as a potential antiobesity agent in 135 people. The conclusion from this trial was that "Garcinia cambogia failed to produce significant weight loss and fat mass loss beyond that observed with placebo".[9]
References
- ^ "Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Roxb.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 June 2013 – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ Publications & Information Directorate, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (1986). G. cambogia Desr. The Useful Plants of India. (New Delhi: Publications & Information Directorate, 1986) 229.
- ^ "Fruit yellowish or reddish, size of an orange having six or eight deep longitudinal grooves in its fleshy pericarp. Pulp acid of a pleasant flavor. It is dried among the Singalese who use it in curries." Uphof, J.C. Th. (1968).
- ^ "The acid rinds of the ripe fruit are eaten, and in Ceylon are dried, and eaten as a condiment in curries." Drury, Heber (1873). "Garcinia gambogia (Desrous) N. 0. Clusiaceae". The Useful Plants of India, second edition. London: William H. Allen & Co. p. 220.
- ^ Howard, Catherine G. "The Usefulness of the Garcinia Cambogia Fruit". Garcinia Cambogia Extract Org. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ Belluz, Julia; Hoffman, Steven J. (1 January 2013). "Dr. Oz's Miraculous Medical Advice; Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
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