Caralluma is a succulent plant (cactus) from India. In India, it grows wild and is often used as a border in gardens and as a roadside shrub. It is also found in the wild in Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canary Islands, Afghanistan, and Southern Europe. Traditionally, Indian tribes chewed chunks of Caralluma to keep from being hungry during a long hunt. It is also consumed in India as a vegetable with spices or made into chutney or pickles. Nowadays the extract derived from the plant is used to decrease appetite for weight loss. It is also used to quench thirst and to increase endurance. Although not fully characterized, caralluma fimbriata Extract is believed to work via active biomolecules called “pregnane glycosides” that may down-regulate both ghrelin synthesis in the stomach and neuropeptide-Y in the hypothalamus, thereby resulting in appetite suppression.

Guggal is a spiny shrub or small tree with many branches, usually growing two or three meters high, that is native to India, Arabia and Pakistan. It is found in the arid, rocky tracts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in India. The Commiphora mukul tree has an ash-colored bark that comes off in large rough flakes, exposing the under bark that also peels away. The tree remains without any foliage for most of the year.

Moringa is a plant that is native to areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. It is also grown in the tropics. The leaves, bark, flowers, fruit, seeds, and root are used to make medicine. Moringa is used for asthma, diabetes, obesity, symptoms of menopause, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.