What is Caralluma Fimbriata?

Caralluma fimbriata is a succulent plant in the family Apocynaceae. It has been eaten in rural India for centuries, raw, as a vegetable with spices, or preserved in chutneys and pickles, and is often found as a roadside shrub or boundary marker.
Caralluma fimbriata has been used as a portable food and thirst quencher for hunting. Caralluma fimbriata is also used for its purported ability to suppress hunger and appetite and enhance stamina. Caralluma fimbriata is believed to have an effect on the appetite control centre of the brain.[1] Tribesmen on a day's hunt will often only pack some Caralluma fimbriata to sustain themselves and hence it is commonly known as "famine food" in India.
In a small clinical trial conducted in India, modest benefits of Caralluma fimbriata extracts were observed.[2] In the study, 50 overweight individuals were given either a placebo or one gram of extract each day for 60 days. Compared to the placebo group, individuals receiving the extract showed no significant change in body weight, body mass index, hip circumference, body fat or energy intake; however, both appetite and waist circumference were reduced. In another study [3] led by Kamalakkannan et.al., on diet induced obese rat model, they found that supplementing caralluma fimbrata at a dose of 25,50 and 100mg/Kg body weight was effective in reducing feed intake and weight gain in a dose dependent manner.Histopathological study of the thoracic aorta revealed that the plant extract was effective in reducing atheroma plaque formation. This study revealed that caralluma fimbrata has anti-obesogenic and anti-atherogenic property.
Various diet pills claiming to contain Caralluma fimbriata extracts are aggressively marketed for weight loss. However there is no independent evidence to suggest that the amount of extract found in these products is sufficient to obtain the same results as the clinical trial. The FTC cautions against the use of such "miracle diet" products.[4]
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