Caralluma fimbriata (an appetite suppressant) is a succulent plant from the cactus family Apocynaceae. It has been eaten in rural India for hundreds of years already. During those old times, tribesmen would eat it raw, as a vegetable and with spices, or preserved in chutneys and pickles, and is often found as a roadside shrub or boundary marker.
It has been used as a portable food and thirst quencher for hunting before, and now, as a trail food when hiking in the outdoors. It is also used for its purported ability to suppress hunger and appetite and enhance stamina. It is believed to have an effect on the appetite control centre of the brain. Tribesmen on a day’s hunt will often only pack some Caralluma fimbriata to sustain themselves and because of this it is commonly known in India as the “famine food”.
In a small clinical trial conducted in India, modest benefits of Caralluma fimbriata extracts were observed (for the whole technical version of the story, please refer to the caralluma fimbriata page). 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.
Various diet pills claiming to contain Caralluma fimbriata extracts are aggressively out in the market today. Manufacturers advertise it as a weight loss supplement. Be careful though, because 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. Similar caution should be had like what you have against the use of such “miracle diet” products.
