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Salacia oblonga

Salacia is a plant that is native to India and Sri Lanka. The root and stem of this plant are used to make medicine.

Salacia has a long history of use in the treatment of diabetes in Ayurvedic medicine. Cups made from Salacia wood are used for drinking water by people suffering from diabetes. In addition to treating diabetes, salacia is used to treat gonorrhea, asthma, itching, rheumatic joint pain, obesity, thirst and menstrual problems.

How does salacia work?

Chemicals contained in salacia appear to prevent sugars in food from being absorbed by the body.

How effective is salacia?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of salacia for diabetes. New research suggests that consuming salacia tea with every meal may lower hemoglobin A1C levels in people suffering from type 2 diabetes. Hemoglobin A1C is a marker for blood sugar control. A single dose of Salacia taken in combination with a meal appears to reduce post-meal insulin levels and post-meal blood glucose levels in healthy subjects and subjects suffering from type 2 diabetes. These reductions indicate better blood glucose control. There is also insufficient information on the effectiveness of salacia for itchy skin, gonorrhea, joint problems and asthma, as well as its use to support weight loss. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of salacia in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Single doses of Salacia can be safely consumed in doses of up to 1000 mg. Consuming Salacia tea in conjunction with food appears to be safe and safe for most people for up to three months. However, there is not enough information on whether Salacia is safe for prolonged use. Salacia may cause unpleasant side effects such as bloating, belching, abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea in some people.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Not enough is known about the use of salacia during pregnancy and breastfeeding. For this reason, pregnant and breastfeeding women are better off avoiding salacia.

Surgeries: Salacia may lower blood sugar levels and there are therefore concerns that salacia may interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. For this reason, it is advisable to stop taking Salacia two weeks before an operation.

Interactions

Care should be taken when combining Salacia with the following medications:

Diabetes medications

Salacia could lower blood sugar levels. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar levels. Taking Salacia in combination with diabetes medication could result in an excessive drop in blood sugar levels. For this reason, blood glucose levels should be carefully monitored. It is possible that the dosage of the diabetes medication may need to be adjusted.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of Salacia depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for Salacia products. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

  1. Collene AL, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a nutritional supplement containing Salacia oblonga extract and insulinogenic amino acids on postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and breath hydrogen responses in healthy adults. Nutrition 2005;21:848-54.
  2. Heacock PM, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a medical food containing an herbal alpha-glucosidase inhibitor on postprandial glycemia and insulinemia in healthy adults. J Am Diet Assoc 2005;105:65-71.
  3. Huang TH, Yang Q, Harada M, et al. Salacia oblonga root improves cardiac lipid metabolism in Zucker diabetic fatty rats: Modulation of cardiac PPAR-alpha-mediated transcription of fatty acid metabolic genes. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2006;210:78-85.
  4. Ismail TS, Gopalakrishnan S, Begum VH, Elango V. Anti-inflammatory activity of Salacia oblonga Wall. and Azima tetracantha Lam. J Ethnopharmacol 1997;56:145-52.
  5. Jayawardena MH, de Alwis NM, Hettigoda V, Fernando DJ. A double blind randomized placebo controlled cross over study of a herbal preparation containing Salacia reticulata in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;97:215-8.
  6. Li Y, Peng G, Li Q, et al. Salacia oblonga improves cardiac fibrosis and inhibits postprandial hyperglycemia in obese Zucker rats. Life Sci 2004;75:1735-46.
  7. Matsuda H, Morikawa T, Masayuki Y. Antidiabetogenic constituents from several natural medicines. Pure Appl Chem 2002;74:1301-8.
  8. Matsuda H, Murakami T, Yashiro K, et al. Antidiabetic principles of natural medicines. IV. Aldose reductase and qlpha-glucosidase inhibitors from the roots of Salacia oblonga Wall. (Celastraceae): structure of a new friedelane-type triterpene, kotalagenin 16-acetate. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1999;47:1725-9.
  9. Matsuda H, Murakami T, Yashiro K, et al. Antidiabetic principles of natural medicines. IV. Aldose reductase and qlpha-glucosidase inhibitors from the roots of Salacia oblonga Wall. (Celastraceae): structure of a new friedelane-type triterpene, kotalagenin 16-acetate. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1999;47:1725-9.
  10. Ratnasooriya WD, Jayakody JR, Premakumara GA. Adverse pregnancy outcome in rats following exposure to a Salacia reticulata (Celastraceae) root extract. Braz J Med Biol Res 2003;36:931-5.
  11. Williams JA, Choe YS, Noss MJ, et al. Extract of Salacia oblonga lowers acute glycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:124-30.
  12. Wolf BW, Weisbrode SE. Safety evaluation of an extract from Salacia oblonga. Food Chem Toxicol 2003;41:867-74.
  13. Yoshikawa M, Ninomiya K, Shimoda H, et al. Hepatoprotective and antioxidative properties of Salacia reticulata: preventive effects of phenolic constituents on CCl4-induced liver injury in mice. Biol Pharm Bull 2002;25:72-6.
  14. Yoshikawa M, Nishida N, Shimoda H, et al [Polyphenol constituents from Salacia species: quantitative analysis of mangiferin with alpha-glucosidase and aldose reductase inhibitory activities]. Yakugaku Zasshi 2001;121:371-8.
  15. Yoshikawa M, Shimoda H, Nishida N, et al. Salacia reticulata and its polyphenolic constituents with lipase inhibitory and lipolytic activities have mild antiobesity effects in rats. J Nutr 2002;132:1819-24.