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Executive Summary of Opti-Guggul*
Commiphora mukul or Guggul
is a small, thorny tree closely related to the Biblical myrrh and found
widely in India. The resin of the Guggul plant is a mainstay of
rasayan, the vast medicine chest of herbs, mineral extracts, and
medicinal foods painstakingly collected by untold generations of
physicians working with Ayurveda, the traditional medical system of
India. Guggul is used for a broad variety of conditions in Ayurveda,
including nutritional support in inflammatory conditions and for
supporting healthy body weight: the weight loss appears to be due
to the botanical’s ability to support healthy thyroid function.
But the best-backed such application is in maintaining healthy
cholesterol balance.
The first modern scientific investigation of Guggul for cholesterol was inspired by a passage in an ancient Ayurvedic textbook, the Sushruta Samhita. This passage (15:32) deals with the traditional use of the Guggul resin for disorders of fat metabolism, including obesity, but also “coating and obstruction of the nadi (channels).” This suggested to G.V. Satyavari, a doctorate student at Benaras Hindu University, that Guggul may have been used by the Ayurvedic physicians of old as a treatment for atherosclerosis.
To test her intuition, Dr. Satyavari fed rabbits high-cholesterol diets with or without Guggul resins. She found that the animals that were fed Guggul not only had lower serum cholesterol levels, but also less atherosclerosis in their blood vessels. This preliminary report led first to more animal experiments, and eventually to human clinical trials.
In one double-blind crossover trial comparing a standardized extract of the herb with the cholesterol drug clofibrate, the two substances were found to be very similar in their ability to reduce total cholesterol (11% vs. 10%) and triglycerides (16.8 vs. 21.6%). Among those patients who benefited from the herbal resin, HDL (“good”) cholesterol went up in 60% of patients taking Guggul supplements; the drug produced no such improvement.
Other trials have confirmed these results, and also demonstrated reductions in LDL (“L” for “Lethal:” the “bad” cholesterol). Studies have also found that subjects administered Guggul had less free radical damage to lipids, which (granted the role played by such damage in triggering LDL’s part in the development of atherosclerosis) would also be expected to be helpful for cardiovascular concerns. In another important report, a study in humans found that Guggul keeps potentially deadly blood clots in check by increasing their breakup (fibrinolysis). Blood clots form part of the matrix of atherosclerotic plaques and can themselves trigger a heart attack.
Guggul’s place as herbal support for healthy cholesterol balance is on solid ground. It appears to work through several mechanisms, including inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase (the enzyme that controls the body’s synthesis of cholesterol), increasing the release of excess lipids through the feces (an action similar to the drug cholestryramine (Questran®)), and its support of thyroid hormone production.
But as noted above, Guggul’s benefits extend beyond supporting optimal lipoprotein balance. Animal studies have revealed that Guggul supports healthy thyroid function, mostly by increasing the conversion of the less active thyroxin (T4) to the more active triiodothyronine (T3) through increasing thyroid proteolytic activity and the uptake of iodine into thyroxin, and without increasing the production of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).
As might be expected from a botanical that helps the body maintain optimal thyroid activity, studies have reported that Guggul helps maintain healthy body weight. In one double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 60 overweight men and women took either a Guggul supplement or lookalike pills for four weeks, and then were switched over to the other capsule for an additional four weeks. People experienced an average weight loss of 2.8 pounds after four weeks of taking Guggul; by contrast, the average person actually gained a little more than half a pound while taking the dummy pills. There were also significant reductions in skin fold body fat measurements at the triceps, calf, and shoulder; biceps skinfold fat was also considerably reduced in the mildly overweight, and in men as a group.
Several animal studies have supported an anti-inflammatory effect for Guggul – a traditional use for this herb. Guggul has also traditionally been used for support in a variety of skin disorders. One small trial found Guggul to be as good as tetracycline for people suffering with scarring, cystic acne, an effect most strongly noted in those with very oily skin.
Ayurveda holds Guggul in great esteem – greater esteem, perhaps, than is afforded any other botanical. Its traditional uses are many, and Western science is beginning to authenticate them. Once you start looking into Guggul, you may find yourself wondering who couldn’t benefit from its broad-ranging health-promoting effects.
ReferencesNityanand S, Srivastava JS, Asthana OP. Clinical trials with gugulipid. A new hypolipidaemic agent. J Assoc Physicians India. 1989 May; 37(5): 323-8.
Singh RB, Niaz MA, Ghosh S. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of Commiphora mukul as an adjunct to dietary therapy in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 1994 Aug; 8(4): 659-64.
Bordia A, Chuttani SK. Effect of gum guggulu on fibrinolysis and platelet adhesiveness in coronary heart disease. Indian J Med Res. 1979 Dec; 70: 992-6.
Sidhu LS, Sharma K, Puri AS, Prakash S. Effect of gum guggul on body weight and subcutaneous skin folds. J Res Indian Med Yoga Homeo. 1976; 11(2):16-22.
Tripathi YB, Tripathi P, Malhotra OP, Tripathi SN. Thyroid stimulatory action of (Z)-guggulsterone: mechanism of action. Planta Med. 1988 Aug; 54(4): 271-7. Urizar NL, Liverman AB, Dodds DT, Silva FV, Ordentlich P, Yan Y, Gonzalez FJ, Heyman RA, Mangelsdorf DJ, Moore DD. A natural product that lowers cholesterol as an antagonist ligand for FXR. Science 2002 May 31; 296(5573): 1703-6. Source for the above article: the aor.ca web site, executive summary for the AOR Opti-Guggul product.
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