Editor's comment

Some organizations do advertisement on google.com to give consumers "Garcinia Cambogia warning" on their websites.  They claim that they have tested a few dozens of products and have identified the "excellent", the "good" and the "ok" brands of Garcinia cambogia.  The statements on these websites are very similar including the wording and the presentation, which may prompt readers to believe that these websites may be run by the same people or organization.  

We advise that before purchasing any thing, food consumers should look and see if the seller can offer any evidence that indicates that the product they are selling has been actually tested by a third party or chemical laboratory.  Also use your intuition to decide if the seller is truth-worthy or not.  Try to stay away from those products made of too many ingredients or fillers.  Garcinia cambogia may be a good dietary supplement for weight loss, but using other ingredients or low dose of HCA or undisclosed impurity or contaminants may do more harm than good.

Wednesday May 21, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A commentary reported in the Nov 28, 2013 issue of World Journal of gastroenterology suggests that hydroxycitric acid which is found high in garcinia cambogia, a dietary supplement that is commonly used for weight loss, does not promote inflammation or induce liver toxicity.

A few studies have claimed that dietary supplements  based on garcinia cambogia on the market may be toxic to the liver while an overwhelming majority of studies have not found any toxic effect of this supplement ingredient.

Dallas L Clouatre and Harr G. Preuss published the commentary in response to the study report by Y. J. Kim and colleagues which is titled "Garcinia cambogia attenuates diet-induced adiposity but exacerbates hepatic collagen accumulation and inflammation," and published also in World Journal of Gastroenterology.

In Kim's study, mice were fed for 16 weeks a high fat diet (45% calories from fat) supplemented with a Garcinia cambogia extract in a dose of 1%.  Kim et al. found the supplement indeed modulates adipose fatty acid synthesis and beta-oxidation, which prevents the high fat diet induced obesity.  But they also found this Garcinia cambogia product "induces hepatic fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative stress."

Clouatre and Preuss pointed out in their comment that Kim's findings are at odds with most animal and human studies that have proved the efficacy as a weight loss dietary supplement and safety of hydroxycitric acid.  They also said hydroxycitric acid can even protect against the liver toxicity induced by ethanol and dexamethasone and reduces markers of inflammation in the brain, intestines, kidney and the blood.

The authors reasoned that any side effect of hydroxycitric acid/garcinia cambogia observed in Kim's study may be due likely to the factors associated with the source of these ingredients and the form of hydroxycitric acid or other ingredients used in the dietary supplement, but not hydroxycitric acid per se.  Kim et al. did not reveal the composition of the dietary supplement.  In other words, Kim's conclusion may not be generalized to other forms of garcinia cambogia or hydroxycitric acid based weight loss supplements on the market.

Clouatre and  Preuss also pointed out many reviews/studies to demonstrate that hydroxycitric acid /garcinia cambogia per se are effective for weight loss and safe to use. (David Liu)