Health & Beauty Benefits Of The Kokum Plant
1. Weight Loss Aid
Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is a derivative of citric acid, making up 20% to 30% of the kokum rind. It is also found in Garcinia Indica’s Indonesian cousin, Garcinia cambogia.
Combined with a proper diet and plenty of exercise, HCA can help shoulder some of the burden of losing weight. HCA has been shown to inhibit the accumulation of visceral fat (abdomen), subcutaneous fat (lower body), and total fat area, according to a double blind study published in 2003. In it, 44 obese men and women took 1000 mg of HCA daily over a period of 12 weeks. The participants experienced an average of 10% to 15% reduction in each of these fat areas. Use of HCA supplements had no adverse effect and there was no weight rebound after 16 weeks.
Other studies suggest that HCA can help suppress appetite, increase energy, and boost the metabolism.
2. Ease Anxiety & Depression
Another interesting quality of HCA is its ability to increase serotonin levels in the brain. An animal study published in 2015 compared the effects of HCA with the anti-anxiety drug Diazepam on laboratory mice. Using several experimental models to assess anxiety in animals, the researchers found that mice given kokum fruit extract were less fearful, more active, and showed a willingness to explore new surroundings than the control group. The behavioral results were very similar to those treated with Diazepam.
3. An Antioxidant Powerhouse
Like the many fruits that stow a goodly sum of antioxidants exclusively in their peels, kokum rinds are enriched with anthocyanins and garcinol.
The red rinds of kokum fruit consist of anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids that help mitigate free radical damage, boost cognitive function, protect against several types of cancer, keep the heart healthy, improve eyesight, and may help prevent weight gain. Specifically, kokum rinds contain cyanidin-3-glucoside, a particularly potent free radical scavenger.
But the principal antioxidant of kokum fruit peel is garcinol, a type of chalcone. Garcinol is a super powerful substance, easing oxidative stress and neutralizing free radicals three times more effectively than vitamin E.
4. Anti-Inflammatory
Chronic inflammation lies at the heart of many kinds of disease. Because it is the common underlying cause of cancer, dementia, heart disease, and diabetes, it is theorized that if we can prevent inflammation from occurring in the first place, we could avoid degenerative diseases altogether.
Studies on garcinol have shown that it suppresses several pro-inflammatory enzymes. It effectively inhibited the expression of COX-2, iNOS, and NF-κB in one study. In another, it interfered with the activity of 5-lipoxygenase, COX-1, prostaglandin, and PGE2.
5. Chemopreventative
Garcinol’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity also have implications when it comes to fighting and preventing cancer.
Though research is still in its infancy, so far the results have been promising. In an animal study, garcinol significantly reduced the spread of human colon cancer cell lines. It was likewise effective in inducing apoptotic cell death in human leukemia cells. And lastly, it was shown to be quite potent against breast and liver cancer cells.
6. Anti-Ulcer
Gastric ulcers are painful sores that appear in the stomach and small intestines. They can be caused by a Helicobacter pylori infection, long term use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or simply stress.
Not only is garcinol effective against several types of microbes, it is a recognized treatment for H. pylori.
Free radicals also play a role in the development of stomach ulcers, but because garcinol is such an efficient antioxidant, it has been shown to help prevent ulcers from forming.
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