Latin Names Commiphora wightii / Commiphora mukul
English Name Indian Bedellium
Sanskrit / Indian Name Guggulu

Guggul, also known as Commiphora Mukul and Indian Bedellium, is a very effective herbal medicine for controlling obesity and cholesterol. It is a well established fat burning agent all over the world and is currently becoming very popular in America, Japan, Europe and many other western nations. Guggul is a resin known to increase white blood cell counts and possess strong disinfecting properties. It has long been known to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, while maintain or improve the HDL to LDL ratio. It is one of the very first "broad spectrum drugs" with a wide therapeutic range. A broad mode of action makes this herb very helpful even in protecting against ailments such as common cold, and various skin, dental and ophthalmic infections.

One of the most famous herbs in Ayurvedic medicine, Guggul possesses strong purifying and rejuvenating powers. People today most commonly use it to benefit from Guggul's lipid regulating and immunomodulating properties. It has been shown that Guggul can lower blood cholesterol by 14-27% and can lower triglycerides by 22-30%. The effects that Guggul has on the blood cholesterol levels is comparable to prescription medications but, being a natural plant extract, it is a far superior and much safer product. Guggul works on the liver by increasing the metabolism (or break down) of the bad cholesterol known as LDL Cholesterol. After taking the product for 4 to 12 weeks, total cholesterol levels can drop, triglyceride levels can drop and an increase in HDL (the good cholesterol) of approximately 16% can occur. Its benenfits as a weight-loss and fat burning agent have been well researched and documented in several studies.

ACTION

• Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, while maintaining or improving HDL to LDL ratio.
• It lowers triglyceride levels.
• It relaxes the muscles which helps relieve menstrual pain.
• It acts as a blood detoxifier which breaks up stagnation in the body.

Guggul Herbal Dietary Supplement: Vegetable Capsules

Packs Retail Price Sale Price Shipping Order Now 2 Bottles $35.00 $35.00 Free 3 Bottles $53.00 $47.00 Free 5 Bottles $88.00 $69.00 Free 10 Bottles $175.00 $129.00 Free

Supplement Facts:

Serving size: 1 Vegi cap
Servings per container: 60
Each 250 mg capsule contains: Guggul Extract 7:1

Dosage: 1-2 Capsules two times a day after meal or or as directed by your health practitioner.

Morpheme Shuddha Guggulu is the highest quality, most potent and most effective form of Guggul Extract available in Vegetable capsules. Free from Colour, Yeast, Gluten, Wheat, Corn and Dairy Products. Global leader in scientifically validated herbal supplements

Guggul: a multipurpose herb

Introduction

Guggul is as important in our life as the google is. Booth of them are pronounced the same. But one is the search engine and other is or body’s engine to make our body in running condition when body is stuck by some kind of ailments. It is one of the most essential or useful herb that is extensively used by ayurvedic doctors and physicians to cure people from there ailments.

Guggul is commonly known as guggulu in Indian subcontinent. It is a plant out which a gum gets excreted which is the part used. This cum or the resin is sticky in appearance as well as texture. It is generally shiny black to dark brown in color having sticky appearance. It was primarily used to make tablets at it has the power to bind various other herbs with it and easily acquires a shape of a tablet known as vati or gutika in ayurveda. But slowly and gradually health benefits of Guggul started appearing and their by it was the being pushed to use. Guggul can be used both singly as well as in compound form.

In classical ayurvedic medicines Guggul is used two ways. Firstly Guggul is used as a medicated herb especially in the diseases caused due to vata vitiation. Secondly it is the herb that is used for binding the other herb constituents making a medicine. Due to its sticky nature it binds the other constituents thereby facilitating the formation of vati or the gutika popularly known as tablet these days.

How does guggul plant looks like?

Guggul is actually a shrub that attains a height of four meters. The branches have a good aroma and are thorny. The park is papery in texture. Leaves of the Guggul plant are sessile, alternate or fascicled. Leaflets are glabrous, ovate and about 1.5 centimeters in length and 0.5 to 2.5 in breath. The plant is dimorphic i.e. having male flower and female flower on different branches. Calyx is fused at the base with the disc. It is 1 to 2 mm long having triangular lobes. Fruit is one cm long, red in color when it is in ripe form having 2 longitudinal white lines. Mesocarp of the fruit is yellow in color and sometimes it is red in color. Epicarp is dehiscing from the base upwards on maturation. In female flowers, sepals 2 mm long, petals 3-4 mm long, 1 mm broad; staminodes 8, alternately short and long, l to 1.5 mm long; ovary and fruit the same as in bisexual flowers.

What are the other names of Guggul?

Below are some of the known names of guggul

What are the benefits of Guggul?

Guugul has thousands of health benefits on our body. Below are the some of benefits that Guggul cast on our body.

- Weight Management
- Lowering Cholesterol
- Improving Circulation
- Relief from Arthritis pain

- Hypothyroidism
- Treating Boils
- Eczema
- Menstrual Pain

- Dermatitis
- Psoriasis
- Skin rashes

Action on hypothyroidism

The efficacy of guggul, the gum resin of Commiphora mukul in regulating hypothyroidism was evaluated in female mice. In addition to estimating serum levels of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, hepatic 5' monodeiodinase, hepatic glucose-6-phospatase and lipid-peroxidation (LPO), the activities of the anti-oxidative enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), were investigated. While 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU, 10.00 mg/kg/d for 30 days) induced hypothyroidism in mice, as evidenced by a decrease in thyroid hormone concentration and in hepatic 5'D-I activity, simultaneous administration of guggul (200 mg/kg/d for 30 days) reversed this effect, indicating its potential to stimulate thyroid function. Although in PTU treated animals a marginal increase in hepatic LPO was observed, when simultaneously treated with guggul, it was decreased. A parallel increase in the activity of endogenous antioxidants, SOD and CAT, in the latter group indicated the safe and antiperoxidative nature of guggul. These findings suggest the possible use of guggul in the amelioration of hypothyroidism .

Cholesterol

Herbal extracts from Commiphora mukul (guggul) have been widely used in Asia as cholesterol-lowering agents, and their popularity is increasing in the United States . Recently, guggulsterones, the purported bioactive compounds of guggul, have been shown to be potent antagonists of 2 nuclear hormone receptors involved in cholesterol metabolism, establishing a plausible mechanism of action for the hypolipidemic effects of these extracts. However, there are currently no published safety or efficacy data on the use of guggul extracts in Western populations. To study the short-term safety and efficacy of 2 doses of a standardized guggul extract (guggulipid, containing 2.5% guggulsterones) in healthy adults with hyperlipidemia eating a typical Western diet. Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial using a parallel design, conducted March 2000-August 2001. A total of 103 ambulatory, community-dwelling, healthy adults with hypercholesterolemia in the Philadelphia , Pa , metropolitan area. Oral, 3 times daily doses of standard-dose guggul (1000 mg), high-dose guggul (2000 mg), or matching placebo. Percentage change in levels of directly measured low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) after 8 weeks of therapy. Secondary outcome measures included levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, and directly measured very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), as well as adverse events reports and laboratory safety measures including electrolyte levels and hepatic and renal function. Compared with participants randomized to placebo (n = 36), in whom levels of LDL-C decreased by 5%, both standard-dose guggul (n = 33) and high-dose guggul (n = 34) raised levels of LDL-C by 4% (P =.01 vs placebo) and 5% (P =.006 vs placebo), respectively, at 8 weeks, for a net positive change of 9% to 10%. There were no significant changes in levels of total cholesterol, HDL-C, triglycerides, or VLDL-C in response to treatment with guggul in the intention-to-treat analysis. While guggul was generally well tolerated, 6 participants treated with guggul developed a hypersensitivity rash compared with none in the placebo group. Despite plausible mechanisms of action, guggul did not appear to improve levels of serum cholesterol over the short term in this population of adults with hypercholesterolemia, and might in fact raise levels of LDL-C. Guggulipid also appeared to cause a dermatologic hypersensitivity reaction in some patients.

A randomized four-month trial focused on the effects of guggul on HDL cholesterol levels in 40 patients between the ages of 40 and 60 years with a history of coronary artery disease, serum cholesterol concentrations of ≥275 mg/dL, and triglyceride concentrations of >200 mg/ dL. [8] The patients received either 4.5 g of guggul orally daily in two divided doses or matching placebo. Outcome measures included total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and very-low-density-lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol. At the end of the 16 weeks of therapy, total cholesterol and triglycerides had decreased by an average of 72 mg/ mL ( p < 0.01) and 43 mg/dL ( p < 0.05), respectively, in the treatment group. Significant reductions were also seen at 8 weeks in LDL cholesterol and VLDL cholesterol (averaging 59 and 6 mg/dL, respectively), and there were significant increases in mean ± S.E. HDL cholesterol (from 62.1 ± 4.2 mg/dL to 66.4 ± 3.5 mg/ dL) ( p < 0.05). Adverse effects were not reported. While the descriptions of the study's methods and results were rather limited and the sample was small, the trial appears to indicate a benefit of guggul therapy in the absence of dietary or lifestyle changes in patients with coronary artery disease. The authors stated that an additional benefit may derive from a theorized effect of guggul on platelet adhesiveness or fibrinolytic activity.

Arthritis

Ayurveda, the traditional system of healthcare in India , has many remedies for Osteoarthritis (OA). One of the ingredients most commonly found in Ayurvedic arthritis formulas is guggul, an oleoresin of the herb Commiphora mukul. The authors have conducted both preclinical and clinical investigations of guggul for reduction of pain, stiffness, and improved function, and to determine tolerability in older patients with a diagnosis of OA of the knee. Overall data indicate significant improvement with guggul for participants during the trial in both scales and objective measures used for assessment purposes. There were no side effects reported during the trial. Guggul appears to be a relatively safe and effective supplement to reduce symptoms of OA.

Hypolipedimia

There is accumulating evidence that LDL oxidation is essential for atherogenesis, and that antioxidants that prevent this oxidation may either slow down or prevent atherogenesis. In the present study, we found that Commiphora mukul (guggul) and its cholesterol-lowering component, guggulsterone, effectively inhibited LDL oxidation. This inhibition by guggul was assessed by the decrease in the following parameters describing LDL oxidation: conjugated dienes, relative electrophoretic mobility (REM), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, lipid hydroperoxides, oxidation-specific immune epitopes as detected with a monoclonal antibody against oxidized LDL, and the accumulation of LDL derived cholesterol esters in mouse peritoneal macrophages. We concluded that guggul and its lipid-lowering component, guggulsterone, significantly inhibit LDL oxidation. The combination of antioxidant and lipid-lowering properties of guggul and guggulsterone makes them especially beneficial against atherogenesis .

Guggulsterones were comparable to cardioprotective drugs propanolol and nifedipine in protecting from myocardial necrosis induced by isoproterenol in male albino Charles-Foster rats (Chander et al., 2003; Kaul and Kapoor, 1989). Gugulipid ® significantly increased the levels of catecholamine and the activity of dopamine β-hydroxylase in normal rabbits and decreased those in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Additionally, it helped increase catecholamine levels in hypercholesteremic rabbits (Central Drug Research Institute [India] studies [authors and years n.p.]; Devlin, 1997; Marks, 1990; Orten and Neuhaus, 1982; Schumm, 1988; all cited by Sabinsa Corp., 2000; Badmaev and Majeed, 2000). Gugulipid ® increased the levels of norephinephrine, dopamine, and dopamine β-hydroxylase activity in the heart and brain tissues of rhesus monkeys in a dose-dependent manner (Srivastava et al., 1984; cited by Sabinsa Corp., 2000). In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated murine macrophages J774.1 in vitro, E- and Z-guggulsterones were the most potent inhibitors of nitrix oxide (NO) production, followed by myrrhanol A and myrrhanone A (Meselhy, 2003).

Bioactive constituents from gum guggul (C. wightii), identified as ferulates, showed significant cytotoxicity in vitro, decreasing cell viability in MCF-7 (breast) tumor cells, PC-3 (prostate) tumor cells, and in parental and transfected P388 cells (Zhu et al., 2001, 2002). The ferulates compounds have been used in compounds and methods for prevention and treatment of abnormal cell growth and proliferation of inflammation, neoplasia, and cardiovascular disease (Majeed et al., 2001)

Are their any classical preparations of Guggul?

Guggul is one of the most widely used herb in ayurvedic system of medicine. Below are listed some of the very widely used guggul preparations

· Triphala guggulu – it is preparation of Guggul in which triphala is the main constituent along with Guggul.

· Yogaraja guggulu – one of the most famous ayurvedic classical preparation of Guggul. It very extensively used in relieving from pain and suppressing inflammation in the body.

· Mahayogaraja guggulu

· Candraprabha vati

· Goksuradi guggulu

· Kancanara guggulu

· Amrtadi guggulu

· Laksadi guggulu

· Kaisora guggulu

What are the dosages of Guggul and its various preparations?

With the advent of technology, now days guggul is prepared in many forms as per the requirements. Below are the various forms in which Guggul is used.

References