Gymnema Sylvestre 90 tablets: 75% Gymnemic Acids - Dosage, Reviews

Gymnema is a dietary supplement containing gymnema sylvestre standardised to 75% gymnemic acids, the micronutrients responsible for the principal benefits of this Ayurvedic plant. It helps, in particular, to normalise carbohydrate metabolism (uptake of carbohydrates, regulation of glycaemia, etc.).

What are gymnema’s effects on health?

The Ayurvedic herb Gymnema sylvestre, used in traditional medicine, offers two main benefits:

• It helps to normalise blood sugar levels. A number of scientific studies have demonstrated the ability of natural extracts of gymnema to normalise glycaemia (1-7).
• It helps to regulate appetite, and therefore support weight control. Several studies have highlighted its potential for curbing carbohydrate cravings (the irresistible urge to eat something sweet).

What is responsible for gymnema’s beneficial effects on glycaemia?

Scientists have for some years been working towards understanding the mechanism behind gymnema’s ability to normalise sugar metabolism. Its blood sugar-lowering effect is still the subject of numerous studies, but it seems that gymnemic acid (also called gymnemin) is the plant’s main active compound. According to the scientific literature, it may delay glucose absorption in the blood. The explanation is simple. As the molecules of gymnemic acids and carbohydrates are very similar, gymnemic acids bind to receptors in the intestine instead of carbohydrates, thus preventing excess glucose from being absorbed into the bloodstream (8).

That’s why we offer an an extract standardised to 75% gymnemic acids, which is rare in the supplement market.

In addition to these valuable compounds, gymnema contains other micronutrients of interest including dammarane saponins (gymnemasides) and flavones. Leaf extracts such as ours, also contain ‘gurmarin’, a sweet taste-suppressing peptide. This property may therefore help reduce consumption of sugary foods and thus prevent a rise in blood glucose levels(9).

Other avenues still to be explored:

• the potential increase in insulin secretion by gymnemic acids (10), which may facilitate the entry of blood sugars into cells;
• the potential contribution to regenerating islets of Langerhans which contain the beta cells responsible for the secretion of insulin, the hormone that regulates glycaemia.
• the increase in activity of the enzymes responsible for consumption of glucose.

6 reasons to try Gymnema Sylvestre

1. Cases of type 2 diabetes are rising all the time in the West, a development attributed to a growing ageing population, as well as sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets.
2. Over the long term, diabetics experience a decline in their health because of their disease, especially if it is not well-controlled.
3. Drugs targeting high blood glucose levels have adverse side effects (11).
4. Gymnema has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for over 2500 years: the plant is referred to as gurmar, which literally means “which destroys sugar”. This name refers to the fact that when gymnema leaves are chewed, they have a 1-2 hour-long inhibitory effect on the tastebuds that register sweet tastes.
5. Toxicity studies on Gymnema sylvestre extracts have shown no serious side-effects when taken at recommended doses.
6. It is standardised to 75% gymnemic acids, the plant’s most active compounds, to maximise its main benefit of helping to lower blood sugar levels naturally.

How should Gymnema Sylvestre be taken?

We recommend taking 1-3 tablets a day, with meals, in line with the advice of your health professional.

Throughout the supplementation period, we’d also recommend the tips below for lowering glycaemia naturally:

• Take vitamin D, for at least 3 months, preferably in winter to compensate for the lack of sunshine. Almost 80% of people in the West and almost all those over 60 have an inadequate intake. Yet the studies are unanimous: vitamin D helps to reduce insulin resistance, a pathological process which occurs in diabetics and which exacerbates the disease.
• Eat a healthy, varied diet. It will help you to maintain not only a healthy weight, but relatively stable blood sugar levels throughout the day. Focus on raw, high-fibre foods and avoid excessive amounts of animal fats and sugar.
• Be physically active for at least 2.5 hours a week, ideally spreading this across the week, for at least 10 minutes at a time (speed-walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, etc.). Apart from helping to get rid of any excess weight, regular exercise helps insulin work more effectively.
• Explore different supplements related to glycaemia, to find out which ones best suit your body: berberine, organic moringa, banaba…

The blood glucose levels to aim for, which are indicative of good glycaemic control, are:

• between 4 mmol/l to 7 mmol/l before meals;
• and between 7 and 10 mmol/l 2 hours after meals;
• and a level of glycated haemoglobin below 7%.

Notes: diabetes is a serious disease which requires medically-supervised treatment. Self-treating with plants reputed to be ‘anti-diabetes’ may result in interactions between classic blood glucose-lowering drugs and lead to side-effects. Always consult a health professional before starting to take any such natural treatments.

1. Shapiro K, Gong WC. Natural Products Used for Diabetes.J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:217-26.
2. Porchezhian E, Dobriyal RM. An overview on the advances of Gymnema sylvestre: chemistry, pharmacology and patents.Pharmazie 2003 Jan;58(1):5-12.
3. Grover JK, Yadav S, Vats V. Medicinal plants of India with anti-diabetic potential.J Ethnopharmacol 2002 Jun;81(1):81-100.
4. Yeh GY, Eisenberg DM, et al. Systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes.Diabetes Care 2003 Apr;26(4):1277-94.
5. In vitro callus and in vivo leaf extract of Gymnema sylvestre stimulate β-cells regeneration and anti-diabetic activity in Wistar rats. Ahmed AB, Rao AS, Rao MV. Phytomedicine. 2010 Nov;17(13):1033-9.
6. Shanmugasundaram ER, Rajeswari G, et al. Use of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract in the control of blood glucose in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.J Ethnopharmacol 1990 Oct;30(3):281-94.
7. Baskaran K, Kizar Ahamath B, et al. Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients.J Ethnopharmacol 1990 Oct;30(3):295-300.
8. Sahu N., Mahato S.B., Sarkar S.K., Poddar G. Triterpenoid Saponins from Gymnema sylvestre. Phytochem. 1996;41:1181–1185.
9. Nakamura Y., Tsumura Y., Tonogai Y., Shibata T. Fecal steroid excretion is increased in rats by oral administration of gymnemic acids contained in Gymnema sylvestre leaves. J. Nutr. 1999; 129:1214–1222.
10. Gymnema sylvestre stimulates insulin release in vitro by increased membrane permeability.
11. Persaud SJ, Al-Majed H, Raman A, Jones PM, J Endocrinol. 1999 Nov; 163(2):207-12.
12. M. Smith and A. M. Reynard, Essentials of Pharmacology, WB Saunders, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 1995.