Can gurmar extract be used as a functional dietary supplement?

Researchers from Seoul National University in South Korea found that the gurmar plant (Gymnema sylvestre) can protect against symptoms of a metabolic disorder. The study, which appeared in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, also highlighted the potential of gurmar extract as an ingredient in functional dietary supplements.

• The researchers used an integrated approach to look at the efficacy of gurmar extract as a supplement in a high-fat diet.
• They used insulin resistance, adipose tissue dysfunction, and liver steatosis as benchmarks.
• Rats used in the experiment were fed a high-fat diet for both the acute and chronic study. G. sylvestre extracts were then supplemented in varying doses, namely, 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg of body weight.
• Changes in body composition, serum lipid and glucose parameters, adipose and liver tissue histology, and gene expression were recorded.
• Researchers found that G. sylvestre extracts significantly inhibited the increases in body weight; lipid serum levels; insulin, leptin, and adipose tissue; and liver inflammation.
• The extracts also exhibited hypoglycemic effects, which researchers identified to be caused by its ability to inhibit amylase. The researchers also identified a link between high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and fatty liver and adipose dysfunction.

In sum, the researchers found that gurmar extracts can potentially be used as a dietary supplement and a preventive agent against metabolic disorders.

Learn more about supplements that can help prevent metabolic disorders at SupplementsReport.com.

Journal Reference:

Kim HJ, Kim S, Lee AY, Jang Y, Davaadamdin O, Hong SH, Kim JS, Cho MH. THE EFFECTS OF GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE IN HIGH-FAT DIET-INDUCED METABOLIC DISORDERS. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 18 May 2017;45(04):813–832. DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X17500434