Guggul's therapeutic uses
Guggul is a natural gum resin derived from the mukul myrrh tree, widely recognized in Ayurveda, India's traditional herbal medicine. Its primary therapeutic use is for managing high cholesterol levels, although scientific evidence on its effectiveness remains mixed, with some studies indicating potential benefits while others do not support this claim. Beyond cholesterol management, guggul is also proposed to assist in treating various conditions, including acne, anti-inflammatory responses, diabetes, weight loss, hypothyroidism, blood sugar control, cancer, skin health, arthritis, and thyroid disorders.
Preliminary findings suggest that guggul may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which could be beneficial for conditions like eczema and arthritis. However, most of the proposed benefits, particularly for weight loss and thyroid enhancement, require further research for validation. Safety assessments of standardized guggul extracts indicate minimal side effects, though caution is advised for certain populations, including young children and pregnant or nursing women. Overall, while guggul shows promise for various health issues, more rigorous scientific studies are necessary to establish its efficacy and safety comprehensively.
Guggul's therapeutic uses
- DEFINITION: Natural plant product used to treat specific health conditions.
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USE: High cholesterol
- OTHER PROPOSED USES: Acne, anti-inflammatory, diabetes, weight loss, hypothyroidism, blood sugar control, cancer, skin health, arthritis, thyroid disorders
Overview
Guggul, the sticky gum resin from the mukul myrrh tree, plays a major role in Ayurveda, India's traditional herbal medicine. It was traditionally combined with other herbs to treat arthritis, skin diseases, pains in the nervous system, obesity, digestive problems, infections in the mouth, and menstrual problems.
Therapeutic Dosages
Guggul is manufactured in a standardized form that provides a fixed amount of guggulsterone, the presumed active ingredient in guggul. The typical daily dose should provide 100 milligrams (mg) of guggulsterone.
Therapeutic Uses
Based on preliminary studies, guggul has become a popular herbal treatment for high cholesterol. However, the best-designed trial failed to find benefit. A 2005 review of studies determined that while some noted benefits for lowering cholesterol with guggul supplementation, others showed little benefit. These mixed results indicated additional scientific study is necessary.
Other potential uses of guggul have no more than minimal supporting evidence. One small study hints that guggul might be helpful for acne. Although additional studies are needed, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects are also believed to help eczema. In addition, a study in mice found potential antidiabetic effects.
Guggul has been promoted as a weight-loss agent. Supposedly, it works by enhancing thyroid function. However, the evidence that guggul affects the thyroid comes from a study in mice, and one small, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial failed to find it effective for weight loss.
The anti-inflammatory properties that aid in skin conditions may also provide benefits for arthritis and osteoarthritis. One study found benefits for participants taking guggul to alleviate the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Another study indicated benefits for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis as well. Guggul's anti-inflammatory properties may also help with inflammatory bowel disease. Combined, guggul's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties could help protect against free radicals, which cause chronic health conditions.
Scientific Evidence
High cholesterol. Three double-blind studies performed in India found evidence that guggul can reduce cholesterol levels. However, the largest placebo-controlled study failed to find benefit.
One of the positive placebo-controlled studies enrolled sixty-one individuals and followed them for twenty-four weeks. After twelve weeks of following a healthy diet, half the participants received a placebo, and the other half received guggul at a dose providing 100 mg of guggulsterones daily. The results after twenty-four weeks of treatment showed that the treated group experienced an 11.7 percent decrease in total cholesterol, along with a 12.7 percent decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad cholesterol), a 12 percent decrease in triglycerides, and an 11.1 percent decrease in the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or good cholesterol) ratio. These improvements were significantly greater than what was seen in the placebo group. Similar results were seen in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of forty individuals.
A double-blind study of 228 individuals given either guggul or the standard drug clofibrate found approximately equal efficacy between the two treatments. However, the absence of a placebo group makes these results unreliable.
In contrast to these results, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 103 people failed to find guggul effective at a dose of 75 mg or 150 mg of guggulsterones daily. The herb seemed to worsen levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear. However, these mixed results of guggul for lowering cholesterol indicate further study is necessary.
Acne. A small, controlled trial compared oral gugulipid (50 mg of guggulsterones twice daily) against tetracycline for treating acne and reported equivalent results. However, the study report does not state whether this trial was double-blind, and it also lacked a placebo group.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials for weight management and arthritis have been conducted on guggul with promising preliminary results, although more study is necessary. Other claims of guggul’s therapeutic uses require study beyond observation, laboratory, and animals.
Safety Issues
In clinical trials of standardized guggul extract, no significant side effects other than occasional mild gastrointestinal distress or allergic skin rashes have been seen. Laboratory tests done during these trials did not reveal any alterations in liver or kidney function, blood cell numbers and appearance, heart function, or blood chemistry.
Drugs in the statin family used to reduce cholesterol can cause a potentially serious condition called rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle fibers break down. One case report hints that this could also occur with guggul. Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, and those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established.
Bibliography
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Szapary, P. O., et al. "Guggulipid for the Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia." Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 290, 2003, pp. 765-772.
Ulbricht, Catherine, et al. "Guggul for Hyperlipidemia: A Review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration." Complementary Therapies in Medicine, vol. 13, no. 4, 2005, pp. 279-290.