Caralluma Dry Extract (Caralluma Fimbriata)

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.