Gymnema sylvestre: providing new hope for those with diabetes

Better Nutrition, April, 1996 by James J. Gormely

Called alternately Gur-mar or Mera-singi in Hindi, Meshasringi (meaning "ram's horn") in Sanskrit, "Periploca of the Woods" in English, wald-schlinge in German, and Sarpadarushtrika Meshasringi in Ayurvedic Medicine, Gymnema sylvestre is a woody, climbing plant that grows in the tropical forests of central and southern India. It also happens to be a first-rate warrior against diabetes.

History and traditional uses

A member of the botanical family, Asclepiadacerae, an excellent variety of Gymnema was growing in the Indian city of Goa, ages before the year 1498, when the green-and-red royal Portuguese flag first waved in the warm breezes that grace the Malabar Coast of southwest India. It grew there during the Indian occupation of 1961-1962, which restored Indian rule to Goa. And this outstanding botanical will continue to grow there for as long as geology and humankind permit.

In classical Ayurveda, Gymnema sylvestre has been used for stomach upsets and as a diuretic. It was noted, even as far back as the first century A.D., that Gymnema successfully "destroyed" excess sugars in the body, a condition now recognized as diabetes.

An interesting passage from the Pharmacographia Indica journal, published in 1972 by the Hamdard National Foundation, goes, as follows:

It [Gymnema sylvestre] is also in repute amongst the Hindus as a remedy for snake bite, the powdered root being applied to the part bitten and a decoction administered internally. Its use for this purpose is well known to the natives of the Concan [...] also to the natives of Southern India. [...] Roxburgh describes the plant under the name of Asclepias geminata, and remarks that the small yellow flowers [...] look like fine pearls set in gold.

He says nothing of its medicinal properties.

We can, however, look at a number of important studies, some of which attempt to break down this botanical into its molecular components, others of which reveal beneficial medicinal actions attributed to supplementation with leaf-extracts obtained from Gymnema sylvestre.

Components, modern research, medicinal properties

What's in it? The leaves have special plant-sugar compounds, called "triterpine saponins." Pharmacographia Indica voiced the suggestion that these compounds be called gymnemic acids, a suggestion that was first made by D. Hooper in 1887, and subsequently taken by researchers in 1959 (Warren and Pfaffmann), 1966 (Yackzan), and 1967 (Stocklig), among others.

According to Joseph E. Sinsheimer, et al., in a 1970 article that appeared in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, gymnemic acid was found to be a "complex mixture" of at least nine acidic plant sugars (types of saponins, called glycosides).

A partial listing of Gymnema's ingredients includes:

* hentriacontane;

* chlorophyll;

* phytin;

* resins;

* anthraquinone derivatives; and

* dammarane saponins.

What about dosing and percentages of gymnemic acids? A 250 mg supplement dose, twice daily, represents the extract when the gymnemic acids have been standardized at 25%. The 75 mg extract, taken twice-daily, provides 75% gymnemic acids. Nevertheless, a good general rule of thumb is: 150 mg, three times a day.

What is its most impressive clinical application?

Diabetes. As early as 1930, researchers were also reporting the plant's blood-glucose (blood-sugar) lowering actions. In modern India, extracts of Gymnema's leaves are used successfully, either alone or in combination, with other Ayurvedic compounds as a remedy against diabetes mellitus.

What is diabetes mellitus? Actually, there are two forms. Type I diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a severe, chronic form of diabetes brought on by insufficient production of insulin, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

This form of diabetes normally appears in childhood, or adolescence, and is characterized by excessive thirst, frequent urination, a build up of acids in the body--or a decrease in bicarbonates (acidosis), and heightened sugar levels in blood and urine (glucosuria).

Type II diabetes, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is a less severe form of the disease that usually appears first in adulthood. Often manifesting no symptoms, and growing worse with obesity and physical inactivity, this form is treated with dietary changes and exercise.

In 1990, at the Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Diabetes (Kilpauk Medical College Hospital), Madras, E.R.B. Shanmugasundaram, et al., gave 400 mg/day of Gymnema sylvestre extract to 27 patients with Type I diabetes, the severe form.

The results indicate that insulin requirements and excessive excretion of glucose in the urine (glucosuria) were reduced in 22 patients; blood sugar (glucose) levels were reduced in 25.

A lack of negative side effects. The authors, furthermore, add that: "patients on [Gymnema sylvestre extract] therapy did not report any undesirable side effects such as nausea, vomiting, lassitude, insomnia, [...] or any gastrointestinal disturbances [...] Five patients reported a sense of greater well being characterized by alertness of mind and body during their daily chores, catching a bus at crowded stop, playing games and writing examinations."