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Is Jiaogulan Good for You?

Jiaougulan, a tea from Thailand, is marketed in the United States by several companies. It is also known as amachazuru, xiancao, or by its scientific name Gymnostemma pentaphyllum. The herb from which the tea is derived is known throughout Asia. Jiaogulan is considered by alternative health practitioners as a substance that the body uses to help it remain in balance.

  1. Commercial Products

    • Certain popular U.S. weight-loss mixtures containing jiaogulan along with other nutrients claim to have significant weight-loss and mood-elevating properties. However, detractors claim that these products have no scientific data supporting their use.

    Potential

    • There may not be enough human studies on the effects of jiaogulan, but preliminary animal studies are starting to show some results. A 2009 study reported in the journal Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology showed that jiaogulan, when consumed, lowered blood sugar in mice. Very old herbal treatises suggest using jiaogulan as an aid to treat viral liver disease. An initial rat study reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology shows, in measurements of cell growth and other chemical markers, that jiaogulan may indeed help sufferers of hepatitis. Human studies, however, would be necessary to confirm this effect.

    Theories/Speculation

    • In a study done at Otto-von-Guericke University in Germany, Gymnostemma was shown to protect living cells that had been deprived of oxygen and blood sugar. These data suggest that Gymnostemma could be helpful as a treatment for medical conditions such as clogging of the arteries or stroke.

    Laboratory Benefits

    • A study done to determine optimal freezing conditions for biological samples, at Northwest A & F University in China, suggests that the free radical quenching ability of Gymnostemma-containing media was better at protecting live tissue samples than media which did not contain Gymnostemma.

    Identification

    • Scientists at the Guanxi Medical University in China have discovered that specific medical markers can distinguish Gymnostemma from other medicinal plants. Potential uses of this technology include the quantifying of working chemicals, to ensure the quality and authenticity of medicinal plants.

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