Guggulu

(Author Unknown)

Ayurvedic drug's effectiveness confirmed Source: Hindustan Times, India NEW DELHI: An extract from a shrub found in India can help reduce

cholesterol, American scientists confirm. The extract, called guglipid, comes from the guggal tree and has been used in Ayurvedic medicines for centuries. It received regulatory approval in India in 1987 and is used to treat a range of conditions, including obesity and lipid disorders. Experts from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, found that the extract blocks the body’s Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR). This receptor plays a key role in managing cholesterol levels by triggering the process in which the body converts cholesterol to bile acids. The herbal preparations made from this plant extract is traditionally known as Guggulu in Ayurveda.

Medicinal Plant of the Issue: GUGGULU

Sanskrit Name -Guggulu

Botanical Name -Commiphora mukul Engl.

Family             -Burseraceae

English Name  -Gum guggulu, Indian bedellium

Part used          -Gum resin

Pharmacodynamics: -

    Rasa               -Tikta, Kashaya Katu

    Guna               -Snigdha, Pichhila

    Veerya             -Ushna           

    Vipaka             -Katu

    Doshaghnata   -Kapha-Vatahara

Guggulu is on oleo-resin obtain from the plant commiphora mukul and is very much used in indian system of medicine as astringent, antiseptic, expectorant, aphrodisiac, demulcent, carminative, antispasmodic and useful in rheumatism. Oleoresin gum of C. mukul has been proved to be a potent hypocholesterolemic, hypo-lipidemic, anti-atherosclerotic agent both in clinical as well as in experimental studies. A steroidal compound isolated from the petroleum ether extract of the plant possessed significant anti-inflammatory activity on rat paw edema produced by carrageenin. The steroidal fraction had

a significant effect on the primary as well as the secondary inflammation induced by Freud's adjuvant, the activity being less than that of hydrocortisone acetate in primary inflammation but it is more effective than hydrocortisone in reducing the severity of secondary lesions (Arora et al, 1971, 1972).       Clinical studies with shunthi guggulu or rheumatoid arthritis on 63 patients showed much improvement in age group of 11-40 years (Prem Kishore et. al: 1982).