What is Hydroxycitric Acid?

What is Hydroxycitric Acid?



What is Hydroxycitric Acid?
In light of the debacle with Hydroxcut (the brand of diet pills), consumers are confused as to the difference between Hydroxcut and HCA (hydroxycitric acid). HCA is a component of nearly all diet prostyle products and one should not confuse HCA with the brand Hydroxcut. It would be like confusing an automobile with an automobile tire. Hopefully, this will clear up some of the confusion about HCA. What is HCA? And is the stuff safe?

Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), a natural extract from the dried fruit rind of Garcinia cambogia (family Guttiferae), is a popular supplement for weight management. According to Science Dail, “hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is known variously as Brindle berry or Malabar tamarind, which is used in Indian and Thai food as a condiment and flavoring agent. In Indian folk medicine as a dried powder or tea it's indicated as a laxative and for rheumatism. As Malabar tamarind, it can substitute for lime, and in Ceylon it's used along with salt to cure fish.” 7
Who needs it?
Individuals interesting in weight loss often consume products containing HCA. In fact, HCA may be helpful in treating depression, excess body weight and insomnia.
What does the science show?
There is good supportive data on HCA; in fact, a growing body of evidence demonstrates the efficacy of Garcinia cambogia-derived natural (-)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA) in weight management. Supposedly it does this by curbing appetite and inhibiting body fat biosynthesis. HCA may be beneficial in controlling appetite, as well as treatment of depression, insomnia, migraine headaches and other serotonin-deficient conditions.(1) HCA is also a competitive inhibitor of ATP citrate lyase, a key enzyme which facilitates the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and triglycerides. Furthermore, clinical studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HCA over a period of eight weeks were conducted in 60 human volunteers. Subjects were given a 2,000 kcal diet/day, participated in a 30 min walking exercise program 5 days/week and given an oral dose of placebo or 2,800 mg HCA in three equally divided doses 30-60 min before meals, At the end of 8 weeks, body weight and BMI decreased by 5.4% and 5.2%, respectively. Food intake, total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and serum leptin levels were significantly reduced, while HDL and serotonin levels, and excretion of urinary fat metabolites (a biomarker of fat oxidation) significantly increased. And most importantly, no significant adverse effects were reported.(2)

Another study found that exercise time to exhaustion was significantly enhanced by HCA thus indicating that HCA increases fat metabolism, which may be associated with a decrease in glycogen utilization during the same intensity exercise and enhanced exercise performance.(3) There are also studies on a specific brand of HCA called Super Citrimax (or HCA-SX). Scientists have evaluated the dose- and time-dependent effects of HCA-SX in Sprague-Dawley rats on body weight, hepatic and testicular lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, liver and testis weight, expressed as such and as a % of body weight and brain weight, and histopathological changes over a period of 90 days. The animals were treated with 0, 0.2, 2.0 and 5.0% HCA-SX as feed intake and the animals were put on 30, 60 or 90 days of treatment. So these animals were given a good dose of HCA. They found that treatment of HCA-SX over a period of 90 days results in a reduction in body weight, but did not cause any changes in hepatic and testicular lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, or histopathological changes.(4)
Are these supplements safe?
In several, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials where subjects consumed up to 2800 mg/day HCA, no treatment-related adverse effects were reported. There is sufficient qualitative and quantitative scientific evidence, including animal and human data suggesting that intake of HCA at levels up to 2800 mg/day is safe for human consumption.(5) Another study reported “no significant adverse effects were observed.” “We conclude that dosage levels, timing of administration, subject compliance and bioavailability of HCA-SX significantly affect results and that when taken as directed, HCA-SX is a highly effective adjunct to healthy weight control.(6)”

Furthermore, clinical studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HCA-SX over a period of eight weeks were conducted in 60 human volunteers. Subjects were given a 2,000 kcal diet/day, participated in a 30 min walking exercise program 5 days/week and given an oral dose of placebo or 4666.7 mg HCA-SX (providing 2,800 mg HCA) in three equally divided doses 30-60 min before meals; At the end of 8 weeks, body weight and BMI decreased by 5.4% and 5.2%, respectively. Food intake, total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and serum leptin levels were significantly reduced, while HDL and serotonin levels, and excretion of urinary fat metabolites (a biomarker of fat oxidation) significantly increased. No significant adverse effects were reported. These results demonstrate the safety of HCA-SX in weight management.(2)
How much should you take?
According to one source, “Garcia cambogia products generally contain 50 mg HCA. Doses of HCA used in human studies have ranged from 250 mg three times a day to 1000 mg (one gram) three times a day. For weight loss, Garcinia cambogia is usually taken about a half hour before each meal. Dosage recommendations will vary between manufacturers. Always follow manufacturer's recommendation.” 8