Garcinia Cambogia (HCA)
Garcinia gummi-gutta
A heavily-marketed diet pill with negligible, unreliable effects.
Evidence tier
No Evidence
Research weight
Not supported
Citations
13 verified / 13
Classification
Debunked
⊘
What the evidence says. No credible human evidence supports the marketed claims — widely considered ineffective.
⚠
Health warning. Garcinia/HCA weight-loss effects are tiny and clinically insignificant at best, and HCA-containing products have been linked to liver injury — including a major recall of a popular fat-burner.
What is Garcinia Cambogia (HCA)?
Garcinia Cambogia (HCA) (Garcinia gummi-gutta) is a debunked supplement marketed for appetite suppression. NutriDex grades the human evidence as No Evidence. Garcinia cambogia (its active acid, HCA) is one of the most aggressively marketed weight-loss supplements. Rigorous analysis tells a different story: a meta-analysis found any weight difference versus placebo to be small and of doubtful clinical relevance, and a landmark JAMA trial found no greater weight loss than placebo. More worrying, HCA-containing products have been associated with liver injury, contributing to the high-profile recall of a popular 'fat-burner'.
Marketed Claims (unproven)
✕(Claimed) appetite suppression
✕(Claimed) blocks fat production
Dosing & Compounds
Use & Legality
Not recommended — benefits are negligible and liver-safety concerns exist.
Active Compounds
Safety & Cautions
⚠ Liver injury (hepatotoxicity) has been reported with HCA-containing products, sometimes severe. Often sold in stimulant blends. Given negligible benefit, the risk is not justified. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Garcinia Cambogia (HCA) with any medicine.
Evidence & Risk Findings ★ 13 studies
meta-analysis
Behrouz 2024 (serum leptin meta-analysis)
✓ PubMed
Meta-analysis of 8 RCTs (330 participants) found Garcinia cambogia (median 2900 mg/day, ~8 weeks) significantly lowered serum leptin (WMD -5.01 ng/mL; 95% CI -9.22 to -0.80).
meta-analysis
Lipid profile meta-analysis 2024 (Phytother Res)
✓ PubMed
Meta-analysis of 14 RCTs (623 subjects) found Garcinia cambogia (HCA) modestly reduced triglycerides (-24.2 mg/dL) and total cholesterol (-6.8 mg/dL) and slightly raised HDL (+2.95 mg/dL), with no change in LDL.
meta-analysis
Glycaemic control & liver enzymes meta-analysis 2025 (J Nutr Sci)
✓ PubMed
Meta-analysis of 9 RCTs (444 adults) found Garcinia cambogia had no significant effect on fasting blood glucose (WMD +1.02 mg/dL), insulin (WMD -0.12 mU/L), ALT, or AST versus control, though insulin fell with interventions longer than 8 weeks.
meta-analysis
Golzarand 2020 (dose-response meta-analysis, Complement Ther Med)
✓ PubMed
Dose-response meta-analysis of 8 RCTs (530 subjects) found Garcinia cambogia significantly reduced body weight (-1.34 kg), BMI (-0.99 kg/m2), fat mass (-0.42%), and waist circumference (-4.16 cm) versus placebo, though effects were small.
government agency statement
ANSES warning 2025 (French food safety agency)
✓ Source
France's ANSES advised the entire population against consuming Garcinia cambogia supplements, citing 38 nutrivigilance adverse-effect reports (2009-March 2024) including a fatal fulminant hepatitis plus psychiatric, pancreatitis, cardiac and rhabdomyolysis cases, even in people with no prior medical problems.
Meta-analysis
Onakpoya 2011 (meta-analysis)
✓ PubMed
Effect on weight was small and of questionable clinical significance.
Safety / toxicology
Pharmaceutical Biology 2025
✓ Full text
Review identified >200 reported adverse liver-injury events and analyzed 34 peer-reviewed case reports of Garcinia gummi-gutta supplements, documenting 1 death and 9 liver transplants, with 17 cases scoring possible-to-highly-probable causality (CIOMS/RUCAM).
review
Hepatotoxicity of Garcinia gummi-gutta supplements 2025 (Pharm Biol review)
✓ PubMed
Recent review concludes Garcinia gummi-gutta/HCA dietary supplements carry a documented, largely idiosyncratic risk of serious liver injury, prompting USP cautionary labeling against use in those with liver problems.
Safety / toxicology
Hepatotoxicity reports
✓ Full text
HCA-containing products linked to liver injury and product recalls.
Review
Crescioli 2018 (case series & literature review)
✓ PubMed
Reports 4 cases of acute liver failure in women taking G. cambogia for weight loss plus a literature review; identifies G. cambogia as a recognized cause of herb-induced acute hepatocellular injury, reinforcing that 'natural' status does not guarantee hepatic safety.
case series
Crescioli 2021 (DILIN, Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol)
✓ PubMed
Among 1418 patients in the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, 22 cases of moderate-to-severe liver injury were attributed to Garcinia cambogia alone (n=5) or combined with green tea (n=16)/ashwagandha (n=1); 91% were hospitalized, one needed transplantation, and one died.
Study
Heymsfield 1998 (JAMA)
✓ PubMed
Garcinia produced no greater weight loss than placebo.
authoritative body / NIH
NCCIH - Garcinia Cambogia (NIH)
✓ Source
NIH's NCCIH concludes it is unclear whether garcinia cambogia aids weight loss (some evidence shows a modest effect, other evidence none) and warns it may be unsafe, citing several reported cases of liver damage, some severe though uncommon.