ACTIGAR DC60 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 60% HCA [HPLC] DC granular powder extract

Key Facts

Actigar is a premium Garcinia powder extract with standardised Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) content.

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Background

Garcinia (Garcinia Cambogia) commonly known as Malabar tamarind, is a small fruit native to South-eastern Asia. The rind of the fruit is commonly used as a food preservative, a flavouring agent or food bulking agent (Roy et al., 2003) as well as its use as a traditional remedy to treat constipation, piles, rheumatism, oedema, irregular menstruation and intestinal parasites in many Asian countries (Tharachand et al., 2013). More recently garcinia and its constituents have been identified to possess anti-obesity, hypolipidaemic and anticancer activity, amongst others (Semwal et al., 2015). Garcinia has gained a large amount of attention as a weight loss aid in both the media and the scientific community with multiple studies supporting its use.

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At present we have the following variants of Actigar

Actigar P65HBD - Garcinia cambogia fruit 65% HCA (Calcium Salt) powder extract [High Bulk Density]

Actigar P65 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 65% HCA (Calcium Salt) powder extract [Regular Bulk Density]

Actigar P60CWS - Garcinia cambogia fruit 60% HCA (Calcium and Potassium Salt) [for use in beverages]

Actigar P60 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 60% HCA (Calcium Salt) powder extract [Regular Bulk Density]

Actigar P50 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 50% HCA (Calcium Salt) powder extract [Regular Bulk Density]

Actigar DC65 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 65% HCA (Calcium Salt) [pre-granulated for use in direct compression tablets]

Actigar DC60 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 60% HCA (Calcium Salt) [pre-granulated for use in direct compression tablets]

Actigar DC50 - Garcinia cambogia fruit 50% HCA (Calcium Salt) [pre-granulated for use in direct compression tablets]

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Chemistry

The garcinia fruit contains many different phytochemicals which includes organic acids, benzophenones and xanthones with hydroxy citric acid (HCA) being identified as the major organic acid occurring in the fruit and also the key component for its biological activity. HCA is an α-, β-dihydroxy tricarboxylic acid. HCA can be synthesized using citric acid as a starting material however Actigar is a 100% natural source of HCA.

Hydroxy Citric Acid

CAS – 6205-14-7
Molecular Formula – C6H8O8
Molecular Weight – 208.12 g/mol
IUPAC – 1,2-dihydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid

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Garcinia and Health

Weight Reduction

Garcinia and HCA appear to exert weight-reducing effects through a few different mechanisms. One such method by which it can aid weight reduction is by suppressing appetite (Sullivan et al., 1974; Rao et al., 2010). This reduction can assist individuals in achieving a negative energy balance which will result in weight loss. As well as this, Garcinia can potentially increase serum non-esterified fatty acid concentrations which could indicate that Garcinia increases fat degradation (Bilal et al., 2012). HCA can also inhibit fat synthesis due to its inhibition of the enzyme ATP-citrate lyase, blocking the conversion of citrate to acetyl-CoA which is the first step in fatty acid synthesis (Watson & Lowenstein, 1970; Sullivan et al., 1974).
Excess body fat can come with many side effects. One being compromised blood lipid profiles, with total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides generally increasing and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreasing. These are all risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke. Supplementation with HCA however has demonstrated its ability to alter these blood lipid profiles in a favourable way (Preuss et al., 2004).
One downfall of many weight-loss regimes is that once the weight has been lost, individuals often regain the weight. Not only has HCA been touted as possibly aiding in the reduction of weight but research has also found that its use after a weight loss period may help to maintain the weight loss (Leonhardt et al., 2001).
Generally, ingredients that are advertised for their fat-reducing effects may have a stimulant effect and therefore carry certain side effects such as nervousness, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure or insomnia, as Garcinia is not a stimulant it does not come with such side effects (Preuss et al., 2004).

Antioxidant

Lipid peroxidation is the process by which lipids (fats) undergo oxidative degradation. This process results in alterations in cell signalling, protein and DNA damage as well as cytotoxicity (Ramana et al., 2013). Garcinia is known to possess antioxidant and free radical scavenging abilities and has demonstrated anti lipid peroxidation activity (Subhashini et al., 2011).

Depression and Migraine

Antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) work by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. It has been found that HCA can act in a similar way, inhibiting this serotonin reuptake and therefore could be useful in the treatment of serotonin-deficient conditions including depression and migraine (Ohia et al., 2001).

Alzheimer's Disease

Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter and is hydrolysed by acetylcholinesterase enzymes. These enzymes terminate synaptic transmission and are therefore found to be responsible for cognitive decline and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Garcinia has been found to exhibit anticholinesterase activity by inhibiting cholinesterase and therefore could be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (Subhashini et al., 2011).

Endurance Exercise

Muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrates in the muscle) is commonly identified as a limiting factor for exercise, specifically endurance exercise. Glycogen is the main source of energy and fuel for our working muscles for many different exercise types, especially endurance exercise. HCA can be beneficial for exercise due to its ability to inhibit ATP-citrate lyase which subsequently resulting in an increase in glycogen storage in muscles during carbohydrate loading and therefore more fuel for exercise (Lim et al., 2005). However, our body only has a finite amount of glycogen and therefore, nutritional strategies or supplements that spare this glycogen are thought to be beneficial for endurance exercise. HCA is one such supplement. HCA has been found to increase fatty acid oxidation capacity, increasing the amount of fat available as fuel during exercise and ultimately causing a glycogen-sparing effect (McCarty, 1995).

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References

1. Bilal, T., Esen Gursel, F., Ateş, A. and Altiner, A., 2012. Effect of Garcinia cambogia extract on body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio, and serum non-esterified fatty acids and C-reactive protein levels in rats fed with atherogenic diet. Iranian Journal of Veterinary Research, 13(4), pp.330-333.
2. Leonhardt, M., Hrupka, B. and Langhans, W., 2001. Effect of hydroxycitrate on food intake and body weight regain after a period of restrictive feeding in male rats. Physiology & Behavior, 74(1-2), pp.191-196.
3. Lim, K., Ryu, S., Suh, H., Ishihara, K. and Fushiki, T., 2005. (-)-Hydroxycitrate Ingestion and Endurance Exercise Performance. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 51(1), pp.1-7.
4. McCarty, M., 1995. Inhibition of citrate lyase may aid aerobic endurance. Medical Hypotheses, 45(3), pp.247-254.
5. Ohia, S., Awe, S., LeDay, A., Opere, C. and Bagchi, D., 2001. Effect of hydroxycitric acid on serotonin release from isolated rat brain cortex. Research Communications in Molecular Pathology and Pharmacology, 109(3-4), pp.210-6.
6. Preuss, H., Bagchi, D., Bagchi, M., Rao, C., Satyanarayana, S. and Dey, D., 2004. Efficacy of a novel, natural extract of (–)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA-SX) and a combination of HCA-SX, niacin-bound chromium and Gymnema sylvestre extract in weight management in human volunteers: a pilot study. Nutrition Research, 24(1), pp.45-58.
7. Ramana, K., Srivastava, S. and Singhal, S., 2013. Lipid Peroxidation Products in Human Health and Disease. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2013, pp.1-3.
8. Roy, S., Rink, C., Khanna, S., Phillips, C., Bagchi, D., Bagchi, M. and Sen, C., 2003. Body Weight and Abdominal Fat Gene Expression Profile in Response to a Novel Hydroxycitric Acid-Based Dietary Supplement. Gene Expression, 11(5), pp.251-262.
9. Semwal, R., Semwal, D., Vermaak, I. and Viljoen, A., 2015. A comprehensive scientific overview of Garcinia cambogia. Fitoterapia, 102, pp.134-148.
10. Subhashini, N., Nagarajan, G. and Kavimani, S., 2011. In vitro antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of Garcinia combogia. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 3(3), pp.129-132.
11. Sullivan, A., Triscari, J., Hamilton, J. and Miller, O., 1974. Effect of (−)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation of lipid in the rat: II. Appetite. Lipids, 9(2), pp.129-134.
12. Sullivan, A., Triscari, J., Hamilton, J., Miller, O. and Wheatley, V., 1974. Effect of (−)-hydroxycitrate upon the accumulation of lipid in the rat: I. Lipogenesis. Lipids, 9(2), pp.121-128.
13. Tharachand, Selvaraj, I. and Avadhani, M., 2013. Medicinal Properties of Malabar Tamarind [Garcinia Cambogia (Gaertn.) DESR.]. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, 19(2), pp.101-107.
14. Venkateswara Rao, G., Karunakara, A., Santhosh Babu, R., Ranjit, D. and Chandrasekara Reddy, G., 2010. Hydroxycitric acid lactone and its salts: Preparation and appetite suppression studies. Food Chemistry, 120(1), pp.235-239.
15. Watson, J. and Lowenstein, J., 1970. Citrate and the Conversion of Carbohydrate into Fat. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 245(22), pp.5993-6002.