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3 Proven Benefits of Gymnema Sylvestre and 1 BIG Problem...

Gymnema sylvestre, also lovingly called "gurmar", which literally translates to "destroyer of sugar", is a climbing shrub endogenous to Africa and South Asia. For 4000 years, the leaves of this plant have been used in Ayurvedic traditions for treating:

  • Diabetes
  • Constipation
  • Indigestion

With advances in biotechnology, we now understand the inner workings and benefits of Gymnema.

In Halting Sugar Craving

The Gymnema plant contains gurmarin. This compound is found in the leaves and roots of the plant, and acts by blocking the sugar receptors of the taste buds when chewed, which reduces the sweetness of sugar.

Gymnema also has the potential as an appetite suppressant. In a study by Brala, subjects who were given Gymnema an hour before meal ate less than the controls.

Not only may Gymnema suppress appetite, it may also block the absorption of carbs.

Gymnemic acid, a bioactive constituent of the Gymnema plant, is structurally similar to glucose. A study by Khang using lab rats discovered that gymnenic acids actually bind to intestinal receptors, locking carbs out and preventing its absorption.

In Improving Markers Of Diabetes

Doses of up to 400 mg/day of Gymnema significantly lowered fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA1c levels in volunteers with Type 2 diabetes in a study by Baskaran. In fact, five of the 22 volunteers were able to stop taking their prescription medications altogether, while 16 managed to reduce their dosages.

Similarly, volunteers with Insulin-dependent diabetes who took 400 mg of Gymnema daily needed less insulin to control their blood sugar. Shanmagusandaram also found that Gymnema reduced blood cholesterol, improved glucose tolerance, fasting blood sugar, and HbA1c.

Al-Romaiyan found similar results: a novel Gymnema extract that used the patented OSA™ technology produced significant reductions in blood glucose in 10 of 11 subjects.

But there is one HUGE problem: Standard Gymnema extracts, while particularly good at raising insulin levels, does not do so by directly stimulating the pancreatic beta cells to produce more insulin. What they do instead is increase the permeability of the pancreatic cell membranes so more insulin could go out into the blood stream.

Why is this a problem? A study by Persaud revealed that exposure of pancreatic beta cells to standard Gymnema extracts caused progressively more damage to cell membrane integrity.

And even when more insulin is coming out, the cells are not producing more of it, leading to an unregulated loss of insulin from the cells.

THE SOLUTION?

Nutrusta Gymnema Elite is a novel Gymnema extract formulated using the patented OSA™ extraction technology. Unlike standard alcoholic Gymnema extracts, Nutrusta Gymnema Elite, with the use of OSA™ acts by enhancing the production of insulin, and evidently regenerating the pancreatic beta cells while preserving cell integrity, making it a safer, more bioactive solution that works better even at lower doses.

Click here for Nutrusta Gymnema Elite

If you have trouble controlling your blood sugar, you are strongly advised to talk with your doctor before taking any nutritional supplements.

  1. Tiwari, P., Mishra, B., et.al. BioMed Research International. 2014. DOI:10.1155/2014/830285.
  2. Brala PM, Hagen RL. Effects of sweetness perception and caloric value of a preload on short term intake. Physiol Behav. 1983 Jan;30(1):1-9.
  3. Kang MH, Lee MS, Choi MK, Min KS, Shibamoto T. Hypoglycemic activity of Gymnema sylvestre extracts on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in diabetic rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Mar 14;60(10):2517-24. doi: 10.1021/jf205086b.
  4. Baskaran K, Kizar Ahamath B, Radha Shanmugasundaram K, Shanmugasundaram ER. Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. J Ethnopharmacol. Oct 1990;30(3):295-300.
  5. Shanmugasundaram ER, Rajeswari G, Baskaran K, Rajesh Kumar BR, Radha Shanmugasundaram K, Kizar Ahmath B. Use of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract in the control of blood glucose in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Ethnopharmacol. Oct 1990;30(3):281-294.
  6. Khare AK, Tondon RN, Tewari JP. Hypoglycaemic activity of an indigenous drug (Gymnema sylvestre, 'Gurmar') in normal and diabetic persons. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. Jul-Sep 1983;27(3):257-258.
  7. Preuss HG, Garis RI, Bramble JD, et al. Efficacy of a novel calcium/potassium salt of (-)-hydroxycitric acid in weight control. Int J Clin Pharmacol Res. 2005;25(3):133-144.
  8. Al-Romaiyan A, Liu B, Asare-Anane H, et al. A novel Gymnema sylvestre extract stimulates insulin secretion from human islets in vivo and in vitro. Phytother Res. Sep 2010;24(9):1370-1376. doi:10.1002/ptr.3125
  9. Persaud SJ, Al-Majed H, Raman A, Jones PM. 1999. Gymnema sylvestre stimulates insulin release in vitro by increased membrane permeability. J Endocrinol 163: 207–212