Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid)

Also called garcinia, Garcinia gummi-gutta, Malabar tamarind, hydroxycitric acid, HCA, (-)-hydroxycitric acid.

Best grade C across 6 graded outcomes Botanical Last checked Oct 21, 2026

The short answer

From 17 sources

Garcinia cambogia is a fruit-rind extract rich in hydroxycitric acid, marketed for weight loss. Pooled trials show about 1 kg more weight loss than placebo over a few weeks, and the best-known 12-week trial found no difference. Supplements containing it have been linked to more than 200 reports of liver injury, including liver transplants.

Every graded outcome on this page

6 rows · line = participants

Grade CShort-term weight lossWeight lossn 706
Grade CBlood lipidsCholesteroln 623
Grade CBody weight, BMI and waist sizeWeight lossn 530
Grade CSerum leptinAppetite hormone (leptin)n 330
No effectFasting glucose, insulin and liver enzymesBlood sugarn 444
No effectWeight and fat-mass loss on a low-energy dietWeight lossn 135
3 more graded outcomes, in the evidence chapter

Key facts

Weight loss: Meta-analyses of short trials found about 0.9-1.3 kg more weight loss than placebo; a 2020 review of 54 herbal weight-loss trials found no effect for Garcinia^2,3,16
Best-known trial: A 12-week JAMA trial in 135 adults found no difference in weight or fat loss vs placebo¹
HCA content: LiverTox: the fruit is 10% to 30% hydroxycitric acid by weight, and extracts contain 20% to 60%¹²
Liver injury: More than 200 liver adverse events and 34 published cases, including one death and nine liver transplants; USP added a liver-damage caution to its Garcinia monographs^6,12
LiverTox: LiverTox rates Garcinia cambogia likelihood score B (likely rare cause of clinically apparent liver injury), with onset usually 1 to 4 weeks after starting¹²
Mood: Garcinia products have been linked to cases of mania and to one reported case of serotonin toxicity^9,10,11
Absorption: A high-calorie breakfast cut peak blood HCA about threefold in a small study in women⁸

What it is

Garcinia cambogia (Garcinia gummi-gutta) is a tropical fruit whose rind supplies hydroxycitric acid (HCA), sold mainly as a weight-loss supplement.

How it works

Proposed

Hydroxycitric acid blocks ATP-citrate lyase, an enzyme that supplies building blocks for making fat, and has been proposed to curb appetite. Human trials have not confirmed meaningful effects on fat mass or satiety.^1,11

Forms

Form

The form on this page
Form	Elemental %	Absorption (human data)	GI tolerance	Studied for
Garcinia cambogia extract standardized to HCA	Varies^1,2,8Not applicable (whole compound or extract; no elemental fraction)	In a small 2021 crossover study in healthy women, a high-calorie breakfast lowered HCA peak levels about threefold and total exposure about twofold, with large differences between people.⁸	Mild headache, nausea, upper-respiratory and digestive symptoms in short trials; liver injury and mania in case reports.^1,2,8	Weight loss, blood lipids

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

6 graded outcomes, largest study first

6 graded outcomes: 4 improved, 2 no effect. The largest, a 2011 meta-analysis of 706 people on Short-term weight loss, found an improvement.

By sizeTable

1Short-term weight loss

Improved · Grade C · Meta-analysis, 706 people, 2011

Adults in randomized trials (12 included, 9 pooled)

Dose, result and source

Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
Outcome	Found	People	Study	Who was studied
Short-term weight loss	Improved	706	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2011	Adults in randomized trials (12 included, 9 pooled)
Blood lipids	Improved	623	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2024	Adults in 14 randomized trials
Body weight, BMI and waist size	Improved	530	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2020	Adults in placebo-controlled trials (8 RCTs)
Fasting glucose, insulin and liver enzymes	No effect	444	No-effect grade · Meta-analysis, 2025	Adults in 9 trial reports
Serum leptin	Improved	330	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2024	Adults in 8 randomized trials
Weight and fat-mass loss on a low-energy diet	No effect	135	No-effect grade · RCT, 1998	Overweight men and women, mean BMI about 32 (US)

Every graded row

6 rows

Form tested

Showing 6 of 6 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade CShort-term weight lossWeight loss-0.88 kg vs placeboMeta-analysis · 9 studies
n 706 · 2011

Improved Pooled weight loss was 0.88 kg more than placebo (95% CI -1.75 to -0.00); the authors called the effect small and of uncertain clinical relevance. Gastrointestinal adverse events were twice as common with HCA in one trial.

Design: Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n = 706, 2011
Population: Adults in randomized trials (12 included, 9 pooled)
Form: Garcinia extract / hydroxycitric acid (HCA)
Dose: 1,000-2,800 mg/day HCA
Duration: 2-12 weeks
Source: Reference 2 · PubMed 21197150 (opens PubMed)

Grade CBlood lipidsCholesterolTG -24 mg/dL, LDL unchangedMeta-analysis · 14 studies
n 623 · 2024

Improved Total cholesterol fell 6.76 mg/dL and triglycerides 24.21 mg/dL, HDL rose 2.95 mg/dL; LDL did not change. Heterogeneity was significant.

Design: Meta-analysis, 14 studies, n = 623, 2024
Population: Adults in 14 randomized trials
Form: Garcinia cambogia (HCA)
Dose: Doses varied across trials
Duration: Short-term; larger effects beyond 8 weeks
Source: Reference 5 · PubMed 38151892 (opens PubMed)

Grade CBody weight, BMI and waist sizeWeight lossAbout 1.3 kg more than placeboMeta-analysis · 8 studies
n 530 · 2020

Improved Weight fell 1.34 kg, BMI 0.99 kg/m2 and waist 4.16 cm more than placebo; body-fat percentage fell 0.42 points. The dose-response link was nonlinear.

Design: Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n = 530, 2020
Population: Adults in placebo-controlled trials (8 RCTs)
Form: Garcinia cambogia extract (HCA)
Dose: Doses varied across trials (dose-response analysed)
Duration: Short-term trials
Source: Reference 3 · PubMed 32951714 (opens PubMed)

Grade CSerum leptinAppetite hormone (leptin)Leptin -5.0 ng/mLMeta-analysis · 8 studies
n 330 · 2024

Improved Leptin fell 5.01 ng/mL more than with placebo (95% CI -9.22 to -0.80), with very high heterogeneity (I2 = 93.5%). Half the trials were rated fair quality and half poor.

Design: Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n = 330, 2024
Population: Adults in 8 randomized trials
Form: Garcinia cambogia (HCA)
Dose: Doses varied across trials
Duration: Varied across trials
Source: Reference 17 · PubMed 38876392 (opens PubMed)

No effectFasting glucose, insulin and liver enzymesBlood sugarNo change overallMeta-analysis · 9 studies
n 444 · 2025

No effect No significant effect on fasting blood sugar, insulin, ALT or AST overall. In subgroups, insulin rose in women and insulin and fasting glucose rose in people with BMI 30 or above; trials longer than 8 weeks showed lower insulin.

Design: Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n = 444, 2025
Population: Adults in 9 trial reports
Form: Garcinia cambogia
Dose: Doses varied across trials
Duration: Short-term
Source: Reference 4 · PubMed 39943939 (opens PubMed)

No effectWeight and fat-mass loss on a low-energy dietWeight lossNo benefit over placeboRCT
n 135 · 1998

No effect Both groups lost weight; 3.2 kg with garcinia vs 4.1 kg with placebo (P = .14). Fat-mass loss did not differ.

Design: RCT, n = 135, 1998
Population: Overweight men and women, mean BMI about 32 (US)
Form: Garcinia cambogia extract vs placebo
Dose: 1,500 mg/day hydroxycitric acid
Duration: 12 weeks
Source: Reference 1 · PubMed 9820262 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Small effect, real risk

The pooled weight benefit is about 1 kg over a few weeks, while the safety record includes liver transplants. The best-known trial found no benefit at all.^1,2,3,6

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from 1,000 to 2,800 mg/day of hydroxycitric acid for 2-12 weeks; the JAMA trial used 1,500 mg/day HCA for 12 weeks. These are research doses, not recommendations.^2,1,11

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

What Garcinia cambogia meets

3 cited rows

Medicines 3

Garcinia cambogia3 medicines · 0 supplements

Supplements and foods 0

No supplement rows in our sources.

Measured in a human study
Reference summary
Case reports

Interactions

3 agents

Published interactions, grouped by kind
Agent	What the source says	Evidence
Medicines3
Antidepressants and other serotonergic drugse.g. SSRIs such as escitalopram or sertraline	A published case described serotonin toxicity linked to a Garcinia cambogia supplement, and the NIH ODS notes that mania cases might reflect a serotonergic effect of HCA. Combined use has not been studied.^10,11	Case report
Montelukaste.g. montelukast (Singulair) for asthma or allergies	In liver-cell experiments from the Italian phytovigilance system, Garcinia combined with montelukast greatly reduced cell survival and raised oxidative stress. This is a laboratory signal, not a human study.⁷	Review
Diabetes medicinese.g. metformin, insulin, sulfonylureas	Pooled trials found no overall change in fasting glucose or insulin, but insulin and glucose rose in subgroups with obesity. No trial tested Garcinia alongside diabetes drugs, so the net effect on blood-sugar control is unknown.⁴	RCT

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Garcinia cambogia and your picks, and between your picks.

Add a supplement or medicine

Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Garcinia cambogia.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Who should be careful

5 groups

People with liver disease or on liver-straining drugs: NIH's LiverTox rates Garcinia cambogia likelihood score B (likely rare cause of clinically apparent liver injury) and says the frequency is unknown but likely under 1 in 10,000 users; some cases ended in liver failure, death or transplant. Published cases include one death and nine liver transplants, with causality confirmed by rechallenge in one case. A possible genetic risk (HLA-B*35:01) has been proposed.^12,6,7
People with bipolar disorder or a history of mania: Case reports describe mania, sometimes with psychosis, after Garcinia cambogia products.^9,11
People on antidepressants: A reported case of serotonin toxicity raises a concern with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs; there is no controlled study.¹⁰
People with diabetes: Overall trials showed no change in fasting glucose, but people with obesity showed higher insulin and glucose in subgroup analyses.⁴
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: LactMed (2024) found no data on Garcinia or hydroxycitric acid in breastmilk or in nursing infants and says these products should probably be avoided while breastfeeding, especially with a newborn or preterm infant. For pregnancy, NCCIH notes that many supplements have not been tested in pregnant women, and all Garcinia trials were short.^15,13,11

Liver injury reports

5 notes

The main safety concern with Garcinia cambogia products.

LiverTox score: LiverTox rates Garcinia cambogia likelihood score B. Injury is hepatocellular, usually appears 1 to 4 weeks after starting (sometimes 3 to 12 months), and mostly resolves within 1 to 3 months of stopping; some cases needed a liver transplant.¹²
Case numbers: A 2025 review counted more than 200 liver adverse events and 34 case reports, 17 with possible to highly probable causality scores; the pattern matched drug-induced liver injury with high ALT.⁶
Italian reports: Italy's phytovigilance system collected eight hepatic reactions to Garcinia products from 2002 to 2022, all in women and mostly severe.⁷
Mixed products: The NIH ODS notes many earlier cases involved multi-ingredient products, so not all can be attributed to Garcinia alone.¹¹
Hydroxycut products: LiverTox links Hydroxycut weight-loss products, which have listed Garcinia cambogia among many ingredients, to at least 50 cases of acute liver injury (likelihood score B); because formulas varied, no single ingredient can be blamed.¹⁴

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

7 answers

Does Garcinia cambogia work for weight loss?

Barely. Meta-analyses of short trials found about 0.9-1.3 kg more weight loss than placebo, an effect the reviewers called small, and a 2020 review of 54 herbal trials found no effect for Garcinia. A 12-week JAMA trial of 135 adults found no difference.^1,2,3,16

Does it lower cholesterol?

Pooled trials found modest drops in total cholesterol and triglycerides and a small HDL rise, with no change in LDL; trials were short and varied.⁵

Does it affect blood sugar?

Overall, no change in fasting glucose or insulin; subgroups with obesity showed higher insulin and glucose.⁴

Is Garcinia cambogia safe for the liver?

Liver injury is rare but can be severe. LiverTox gives it likelihood score B. A 2025 review counted more than 200 liver adverse events linked to Garcinia products, and published cases include one death and nine liver transplants.^12,6

What are the side effects of Garcinia cambogia?

Short trials reported mainly mild digestive symptoms, which were twice as common as with placebo in one trial. Rare but serious reports include liver injury (LiverTox score B), mania and one case of serotonin toxicity.^1,2,12,9,10

Is Garcinia cambogia safe to take long term?

Unknown. The trials lasted 2 to 12 weeks, so there are no long-term safety data. Liver injury in case reports usually began 1 to 4 weeks after starting, but sometimes after 3 to 12 months.^2,11,12

Is it the same as mangosteen?

No. Garcinia cambogia (Garcinia gummi-gutta) and mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) are different species in the same genus.

Sources

17 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

17 sources

1Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent: a randomized controlled trial.RCT JAMA, 1998 · PMID 9820262
2The Use of Garcinia Extract (Hydroxycitric Acid) as a Weight loss Supplement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials.Meta-analysis J Obes, 2011 · PMID 21197150
3Effect of Garcinia cambogia supplement on obesity indices: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Meta-analysis Complement Ther Med, 2020 · PMID 32951714
4The effects of Garcinia cambogia on glycaemic control and liver enzymes in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Meta-analysis J Nutr Sci, 2025 · PMID 39943939
5The effects of Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) on lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Meta-analysis Phytother Res, 2024 · PMID 38151892
6Hepatotoxicity of dietary supplements containing Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson.Review Pharm Biol, 2025 · PMID 41262061
7Interaction of Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) Desr. and Drugs as a Possible Mechanism of Liver Injury: The Case of Montelukast.Observational Antioxidants (Basel), 2023 · PMID 37760074
8Food-Effect on (-) - Hydroxycitric Acid Absorption After Oral Administration of Garcinia cambogia Extract Formulation: a Phase I, Randomized, Cross-Over Study.PK study J Pharm Sci, 2021 · PMID 33164784
9Mania Induced by Garcinia cambogia: A Case Series.Observational Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, 2016 · PMID 27486540
10Serotonin toxicity associated with Garcinia cambogia over-the-counter supplement.Observational J Med Toxicol, 2014 · PMID 24699886
11Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Garcinia cambogia section)Fact sheet NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, 2022 · ods.od.nih.gov
12Garcinia CambogiaDatabase LiverTox (NCBI Bookshelf), 2019 · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
13Using Dietary Supplements WiselyFact sheet National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), 2019 · nccih.nih.gov
14HydroxycutDatabase LiverTox (NCBI Bookshelf), 2018 · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
15GarciniaDatabase LactMed (NCBI Bookshelf), 2024 · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
16Effectiveness of herbal medicines for weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Meta-analysis Diabetes Obes Metab, 2020 · PMID 31984610
17The effects of Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) on serum leptin concentrations: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Meta-analysis Complement Ther Med, 2024 · PMID 38876392

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

3 entries

Dated changes to this page
Date	Change	Who and why
Oct 21, 2026all	Added LiverTox likelihood score B and timing of liver injury (Garcinia Cambogia chapter, NBK548087), the LiverTox Hydroxycut chapter (NBK548251), and LactMed's Garcinia entry (NBK501896) to the breastfeeding note. Added a 2024 leptin meta-analysis row (PMID 38876392) and a 2020 herbal weight-loss meta-analysis (PMID 31984610) to the weight key fact and FAQ; added HCA content, side-effect and long-term-safety FAQs, page questions and a metabolic goal link. Searched PubMed 2020 to 2026 for newer weight meta-analyses: none newer than 2020. Not added: a 2025 BPH trial (off-topic) and two small NAFLD diet trials without a placebo arm. Interactions re-checked in LiverTox and LactMed: no new drug interactions documented.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z audit against docs/supplements/AUDIT-STANDARD.md
Oct 14, 2026who should avoid	Pregnancy and breastfeeding caution re-sourced to NCCIH (agency source) instead of trial reports; absorption wording clarified and cited to the food-effect study	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: adversarial review
Oct 14, 2026all	Initial editorial evidence review	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page

Supplement & Nutrient Encyclopedia. Educational information only; it is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician. Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements about supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid)

Medicines 3

Supplements and foods 0

Diabetes medicines

Montelukast

Antidepressants and other serotonergic drugs