Guggul

Last Updated: November 17 2022

Guggul is a product of the Guggul tree, Commiphora mukul. Guggul and its active guggulsterones have been investigated for their usage in elevating thyroid function, but with lacklustre results.

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Guggul is most often used for

Summary

Guggul is a plant which is known for its active ingredients, the guggulsterones. It has been traditionally used for combatting ailments such as high blood lipids, liver dysfunction and obesity.

Its most well marketed effect, that of being able to increase thyroid activity, does not occur with doses commonly found in supplements. It does, however, exert an anti-cholesterolemic effect (lowers blood cholesterol levels) and is also an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant compound.

It is a healthy compound, but not effective for the main means it is marketed for (fat loss).

What else is Guggul known as?
Note that Guggul is also known as:
  • Commiphora mukul
  • Commiphora Wightii
  • Guggulsterones
  • pregna-4
  • 17-diene-3
  • 16-dione
Dosage information

A standard dose of guggul (plant extract) is 400-500mg taken thrice daily with meals, totaling 1,200-1,500mg daily (although doses up to 2,000mg have been used before) If using the guggulsterones in isolation, a dose of 25mg taken thrice a day with meals is used.

Sometimes 'gum guggul' is used in doses of 2-4.5g a day (total), and while it is not sure if guggul needs to be consumed with meals it still tends to be recommended out of prudency.

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References
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2.^Zhu N, Rafi MM, DiPaola RS, Xin J, Chin CK, Badmaev V, Ghai G, Rosen RT, Ho CTBioactive constituents from gum guggul (Commiphora wightii)Phytochemistry.(2001 Apr)
3.^Hanus LO, Rezanka T, Dembitsky VM, Moussaieff AMyrrh--Commiphora chemistryBiomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub.(2005 Jun)
5.^Tonkal AM, Morsy TAAn update review on Commiphora molmol and related speciesJ Egypt Soc Parasitol.(2008 Dec)
9.^Tripathi YB, Malhotra OP, Tripathi SNThyroid Stimulating Action of Z-Guggulsterone Obtained from Commiphora mukulPlanta Med.(1984 Feb)
10.^Tripathi YB, Tripathi P, Malhotra OP, Tripathi SNThyroid stimulatory action of (Z)-guggulsterone: mechanism of actionPlanta Med.(1988 Aug)
11.^Urizar NL, Liverman AB, Dodds DT, Silva FV, Ordentlich P, Yan Y, Gonzalez FJ, Heyman RA, Mangelsdorf DJ, Moore DDA natural product that lowers cholesterol as an antagonist ligand for FXRScience.(2002 May 31)
18.^Ulbricht C, Basch E, Szapary P, Hammerness P, Axentsev S, Boon H, Kroll D, Garraway L, Vora M, Woods J; Natural Standard Research CollaborationGuggul for hyperlipidemia: a review by the Natural Standard Research CollaborationComplement Ther Med.(2005 Dec)
22.^Aggarwal BBNuclear factor-kappaB: the enemy withinCancer Cell.(2004 Sep)
23.^Manjula N, Gayathri B, Vinaykumar KS, Shankernarayanan NP, Vishwakarma RA, Balakrishnan AInhibition of MAP kinases by crude extract and pure compound isolated from Commiphora mukul leads to down regulation of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-2Int Immunopharmacol.(2006 Feb)
24.^Lv N, Song MY, Kim EK, Park JW, Kwon KB, Park BHGuggulsterone, a plant sterol, inhibits NF-kappaB activation and protects pancreatic beta cells from cytokine toxicityMol Cell Endocrinol.(2008 Jul 16)
25.^Macha MA, Matta A, Chauhan SS, Siu KW, Ralhan RGuggulsterone targets smokeless tobacco induced PI3K/Akt pathway in head and neck cancer cellsPLoS One.(2011 Feb 24)
26.^Macha MA, Matta A, Chauhan S, Siu KM, Ralhan R14-3-3 zeta is a molecular target in guggulsterone induced apoptosis in head and neck cancer cellsBMC Cancer.(2010 Nov 30)
27.^Leeman-Neill RJ, Wheeler SE, Singh SV, Thomas SM, Seethala RR, Neill DB, Panahandeh MC, Hahm ER, Joyce SC, Sen M, Cai Q, Freilino ML, Li C, Johnson DE, Grandis JRGuggulsterone enhances head and neck cancer therapies via inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3Carcinogenesis.(2009 Nov)
29.^Dalvi SS, Nayak VK, Pohujani SM, Desai NK, Kshirsagar NA, Gupta KCEffect of gugulipid on bioavailability of diltiazem and propranololJ Assoc Physicians India.(1994 Jun)
30.^Szapary PO, Wolfe ML, Bloedon LT, Cucchiara AJ, DerMarderosian AH, Cirigliano MD, Rader DJGuggulipid for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia: a randomized controlled trialJAMA.(2003 Aug 13)