Guggul Extract Benefits & Side Effects

Posted in Health and tagged with Health, herbs, ingredient, Pregnancy, side effects, women on 09/07/2010 05:33 am by admin

In India, Guggul has been used for more than thousand years to treat a variety of disorders. Guggul is the yellowish extract that is formed by the mukul Commiphora mukul tree. In Ayurveda, Guggul plays a main role and it is mixed with other herbs and used in the treatment of arthritis, skin diseases, pain in the nervous system, obesity, digestive problems, infections in the mouth, and menstrual problems. Guggul Extract has many benefits and side effects, to know them read the following article.

A sap called gum guggul is produced by guggul and the extract of this is called guggulipid, used in Ayurvedic medicine. Guggulsterone is the active ingredient of the guggul extract responsible for Guggul’s therapeutic effects. In North America and Western Europe, guggul extract has seen increasing popularity. Phytosterols named guggulsterones, organic acids, aromatic acids, diterpenes, lignans, sterols, steroids, esters and fatty acid alcohols are contained by Guggul. Guggul is chosen to crude gum guggul as it is safer and more effective.

Benefits of Guggul Extract

Impotence:
Erectile dysfunction or impotence is likely to develop in men with lower blood cholesterol or higher amounts of the beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Guggul may be the treatment for impotence as it supports atherosclerosis which may obstruct blood flow to and from the penis.

High cholesterol:
In one study of cholesterol effects of guggul, when guggul was given to men and women with high cholesterol for 12 weeks with no change in diet or exercise, 14-27% of LDL cholesterol and 22-30% of triglycerides levels were reduced. Guggul extract active ingredient, guggulsterone blocks the activity of a receptor in the liver’s cells called Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR).

Weight Loss:
Guggul helps to improve thyroid function as thyroid gland create hormones that are required to adjust metabolism, it can also help in weight loss. Hormone metabolism, increase levels of circulating T3, or triodothyroxine, a thyroxine metabolite known to raise overall metabolism, which in turn increases fat burning might be changed by guggul.

Atherosclerosis:
Two compounds, Z-guggulsterone and E-guggulsterone are accountable for guggul lipid’s cholesterol-lowering effects. It also increases the levels of “good” cholesterol though the exact mechanism is unknown. These actions help to stop Atherosclerosis. Guggul is also an antioxidant, which helps to prevent the oxidization of cholesterol and the following hardening of the arteries.

Obesity:
With a slight tendency to improve weight loss, a mixture of guggul, phosphate salts, hydroxycitrate, and tyrosine improve the mood of overweight patients. There is no effect on thyroid gland function.

Other benefits:

Guggulsterone is found to effectively inhibit LDL oxidation and the mixture of antioxidant and lipid-lowering properties of guggul and guggulsterone makes them especially advantageous against atherogenesis.
It lowers triglyceride levels.
Guggulsterone induce apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells.
It acts as a blood detoxifier which breaks up stagnation in the body.
Lipid accumulation is also decreased by Guggulsterone and has anti-obesity effects. It also inhibits preadipocytes and endorses lipolysis of mature adipocytes.
It relaxes the muscles which helps to relieve menstrual pain.
Guggulsterones arouse the thyroid, which may tend to have an advantageous effect on cholesterol for people with underactive thyroid glands.
Type II diabetes is cure with the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Guggulsterone.
A combination of guggul and garlic worked better than guggul by itself.
It is a heart tonic that fortifies the heart.
Guggul is also considered very useful for curing acne.

Side Effects of Guggul Extract:

In some patients, guggulipid cause a dermatologic hypersensitivity reaction.
Pregnant women and women who are breast feeding should avoid guggul.
Gastrointestinal symptoms and discomfort are caused by guggle.
Guggulipid also have side effects like headache, mild nausea, eructation, and hiccup in few patients. Possible thyroid problems are also caused by it.
Some generalized skin rash symptoms and allergic rash.
Crude guggul extracts can cause side effects like skin rashes, diarrhea, hiccups, restlessness, apprehension.
Guggul is considered an emenogogue and a uterine stimulant so it should not be used during pregnancy.

Dosage of Guggul:
A common ingestion of guggulsterones is 25 mg three times per day. Most extracts contain 5-10% guggulsterones and can be taken daily for 3 to six months.

Video of Guggul How using Guggul can assist weight loss from youtube:

1 Comment

Guggul Extract Benefits – Helpful in Thyroid | Sweet Additions Says:
September 14th, 2010 at 5:31 am
[...] The body responds by decreasing T3 levels when one normally goes on a diet, and therefore decreasing metabolic rate. But if T3 levels are augmented, diets are much more efficient at causing fat loss. It has not been established how guggulipid increases T3 levels, but the prevailing theory suggest that it is by decreasing lipid peroxidation. Making weight loss faster and easier, Guggul Extract provides nutrients known to have a positive effect on thyroid hormone levels. There are also many other benefits of Guggul Extract. [...]