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Plant Details

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Plant Details

Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R.Br. ex Sm.

BOTANICAL DETAILS OF PLANT

Synonyms

Gymnema sylvestre var. affine (Decne.) Tsiang Gymnema sylvestre var. ceylanica Hook. f. Gymnema sylvestre var. ceylanicum Hook.f. Gymnema sylvestre var. chinense Benth. Gymnema sylvestre var. decaisneana (Wight) Gymnema sylvestre var. decaisneanum (Wight) Thwaites

Kew Herbarium Links

Herbarium 1

Herbarium 2

Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Subkingdom

Tracheobionta

Superdivision

Division

Magnoliophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Subclass

Asteridae

Order

Gentianales

Family

Apocynaceae

Genus

Gymnema

Species

Sylvestre

Plant Description

Up to 3 m tall, large woody climber with pubescent branchlets, sparsely lenticel late; young branchlets pubescent to glabrescent. Petiole 3-12 mm; leaf blade obovate to ovate to elliptical, 3-8.0 × 1.5-6 cm, simple opposite and entire, thick, base rounded or heart-shaped, adaxially pubescent to glabrous except at midvein, abaxially tomentose to glabrous except for veins; lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, convergent. Flowers small, crowded umbelliform cymes, bisexual, Cymes much shorter than leaves, pubescent; peduncle 2-6 mm, Sepals ovate, ciliate,1–2.5 mm long, apex obtuse, hairy. Corolla is greenish-white; lobes ovate, up to 5.5 mm in diameter, glabrous; ovary superior, Stigma head exserted. Fruit-Follicles are mostly solitary, broadly lanceolate in outline, 5–10 cm × 6–10 mm, glabrous, pale green to beige or brownish, and many-seeded. Seeds ovate, ca. 8 × 4 mm; coma silky white at the apex.

Habit/Life Form

Climber

DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES IN INDIA

Central and Peninsular India, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Semi-Arid, Eastern part of Gangetic plains

AGROCLIMATIC CONDITIONS

#	Soil and Climate	Temperature (°C)	Average Annual Rainfall (mm)
1	Soil- Red sandy loam or medium deep black soil. PH-5.5 to 7	10-40	500-1000

Local Names

#	Language Name	Local Name
1	Sanskrit	Madhunsasini, Ajasrngi
2	Bengali	Medhasingi
3	English	Periploca of the wood
4	Gujrati	Kaavalee, Medhasinge
5	Hindi	Gudmaar, Medhaa Singee
6	Kannada	Kadhasige
7	Malayalam	Cakkarakkolli, Madhunaashini
8	Marathi	Kaavalee, Medhaashingi
9	Tamil	Shirukurum Kaay, Shakkaraikkolli
10	Telugu	Podapatro

International Local Names

#	Country Name	Local Name
1	German	Waldschlinge
2	Australia	Chigengteng or Australian Cowplant,

Plant Parts Used

Leaves and Roots

System of Medicine

Ayurvedic medicine, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy,Folk, Sowa Rigpa, Modern medicine and Chinese

Intended Use

Diabetes Constipation Jaundice, Hemorrhoids, Renal and vesical calculi Asthma, Eye diseases, Constipation, Stomach ailments Metabolic syndrome, Snake bites, Laxative

Traditional Application

1`-In traditional medicine, G. Sylvestre leaves are used for the treatment of diabetes. According to ancient traditional medicinal literature the herb is used as a destroyer of Madhumitha (glycosuria). Gymnemate is useful in the treatment of dyspepsia, leukoderma, eye troubles, constipation, jaundice, hemorrhoids, renal and vesical calculi, asthma, bronchitis, amenorrhea, conjunctivitis. The bark from the plant roots is useful as an emetic, expectorant, and analgesic for body aches.

2-Leaf powder of gymnemate is taken orally in cases of scorpion sting, snakebite, and itching. (Muniyappa Ayana, Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu, Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats, India, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 134, Issue 3,2011, Pages 851-864, ISSN 0378-8741).

3-A fine powder of dried leaves is used to cure joint pains, breathing trouble, constipation, and jaundice. (Sripathi, Shubashini K. and Sankari, Uma (2010) "Ethnobotanical Documentation of a Few Medicinal Plants in the Agasthiayamalai Region of Tirunelveli District, India," Ethnobotanical Leaflets: Vol. 2010: Iss. 2, Article 6. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ebl/vol2010/iss2/6).

4-In various countries, the herb is used by locals and tribals for various ailments. In Sudan, crushed roots or powdered roots are applied to snakebites. In eastern Africa, pounded leaves are rubbed into scarifications on the sides to treat stitches. In Angola, leaf and stem preparations are taken to treat cancer. In Botswana pounded cooked roots or root powder are applied externally to treat boils (Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakih, A.
PROTA, 2008 - Medicinal plants).

4-Gymnemate Sylvestre leaves decoction is used by the Taunya community in Terai Arc Landscape, India to cure diabetes, asthma, colds, and cough. (Kumari Poonam, Gopal S. Singh, Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Taunya community in Terai Arc Landscape, India, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 123, Issue 1,2009, Pages 167-176, ISSN 0378-8741, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.02.037).

5-The swollen glands are treated with an external application of triturated leaves mixed with castor oil.

6- Snakebite is treated by dusting the wound with powdered root or applying a paste of the root powder to the wound.

Uses in IORA Countries

#	Country Name	Uses
1	Sri Lanka	In Sri Lanka, the plant is utilized to cure bone fractures,asthma, vision impairments,inflammations,snake bite(Banjari I, Misir A, Pavlić M, Herath PN, Waisundara VY. Traditional Herbal Medicines for Diabetes Used in Europe and Asia: Remedies From Croatia and Sri Lanka. Altern Ther Health Med. 2019;25(3):40-52.)
2	Madagascar	In Madagascar an infusion of the leaf twigs is taken to treat gonorrhea(Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A.Medicinal plants 2,PROTA, 2008)
3	Tanzania	In Tanzania pounded cooked roots are used to cure epilepsy.(Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A.Medicinal plants 2,PROTA, 2008)

Phytochemical Details

#	Phytochemical Constituents	PUBCHEM CID	References
1	Gymnemagenin	10051937
2	Gymnemasaponin II	21636600
3	Gymnemasaponin IV	21636602
4	Gymnasmide	16091097
5	Gymnemasaponin V	6918768
6	Gymnemic acid I	11953919
7	Gymnestrogenin	15560302
8	Gynosaponin TN-2	122397431
9	Deacylgymnemic acid	129465
10	Gurmarin	-	Arai, K., Ishima, R., Morikawa, S. et al. Three-dimensional structure of gurmarin, a sweet taste-suppressing polypeptide. J Biomol NMR 5, 297–305 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00211756
11	Gymnemosides a	6442217
12	Gymnemosides b	6442215
13	Gymnemoside C	101933150
14	Gymnemoside D	101933151
15	Gymnemoside E	101933152
16	Gymnemoside F	101933153
17	Gymnemic acid II	91617872
18	Gymnemic acid III	14264066
19	Gymnemic acid IV	14264063
20	Gymnemic acid V	14683206
21	Gymnemic acid VI	91617894
22	Gymnemic acid VII	91617592

Pharmacological Details

#	PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIONS/THERAPEUTIC USES	REFERENCES
1	Antidiabetic activity	M.-H. Kang, M. S. Lee, M.-K. Choi, K.-S. Min, and T.Shibamoto, “Hypoglycemic activity of Gymnema sylvestre extracts on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in diabeticrats, ”Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 60, no. 10,pp. 2517–2524, 2012. Fatani AJ, Al-Rejaie SS, Abuohashish HM, et al. Neuroprotective effects of Gymnema sylvestre on streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy in rats. Exp Ther Med. 2015;9(5):1670-1678. doi:10.3892/etm.2015.2305 P. M. Patil, P. D. Chaudhari, N. J. Duragkar, and P. P. Katolkar, “Formulation of an anti-diabetic liquid preparation of Gymnema sylvestre and qualitative estimated by TLC,”Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, vol. 5, supplement 1, pp.16–19, 2012. GUPTA SS, VARIYAR MC. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON PITUITARY DIABETES. IV. EFFECT OF GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE AND COCCINIA INDICA AGAINST THE HYPERGLYCAEMIC RESPONSE OF SOMATOTROPIN AND CORTICOTROPIN HORMONES. Indian J Med Res. 1964;52:200-207. R. Galletto, V.L.D. Siqueira, E.B. Ferreira, A. Oliveira, and. Bazotte, “Absence of antidiabetic and hypolipidemic effect of Gymnema Sylvestre in non-diabetic and alloxan-diabetic rats,” Brazilian Archives of BiologyandTechnology, vol.47, no.4, pp.545–551, 2004 Pothuraju, R. , Sharma, R. K., Chagalamarri, J., Jangra, S. and Kumar Kavadi, P. (2014), A systematic review of Gymnema sylvestre in obesity and diabetes management. J. Sci. Food Agric., 94: 834-840. doi:10.1002/jsfa.6458 Shenoy RS, Prashanth KVH, Manonmani HK. In Vitro Antidiabetic Effects of Isolated Triterpene Glycoside Fraction from Gymnema sylvestre. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018;2018:7154702. Published 2018 Aug 8. doi:10.1155/2018/7154702 Laura Y. Zuñiga, Manuel González-Ortiz, and Esperanza Martínez-Abundis,Effect of Gymnema sylvestre Administration on Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Sensitivity, and Insulin Secretion.Journal of Medicinal Food 2017 20:8, 750-754 Baskaran K, Kizar Ahamath B, Radha Shanmugasundaram K, Shanmugasundaram ER. Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. J Ethnopharmacol. 1990;30(3):295-300. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(90)90108-6 Pragya Tiwari, Khurshid Ahmad, and Mohammad Hassan Baig, Gymnema Sylvestre for Diabetes: From Traditional Herb to Future’s Therapeutic, Current Pharmaceutical Design, volume 23, issue 11, pages 1667-1676, the year 2017, ISSN 1381-6128/1873-4286, DOI 10.2174/1381612823666161108162048. Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Md. Arif Khan, S. M. Rakib-Uz-Zaman, et al., “Treating Diabetes Mellitus: Pharmacophore Based Designing of Potential Drugs from Gymnema sylvestre against Insulin Receptor Protein,” BioMed Research International, vol. 2016, Article ID 3187647, 14 pages, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/3187647. Yumeng Li, Yaping Liu, Junjie Liang, Tianxin Wang, Mingzhe Sun, and Zesheng Zhang,Gymnemic Acid Ameliorate Hyperglycemia Through PI3K/AKT and AMPK Mediated Signaling Pathway in T2DM Rats Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Just Accepted Manuscript.DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b04931 Shanmugasundaram KR, Panneerselvam C, Samudram P, Shanmugasundaram ER. Enzyme changes and glucose utilisation in diabetic rabbits: the effect of Gymnema sylvestre, R.Br. J Ethnopharmacol. 1983;7(2):205-234. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(83)90021-1 Zuñiga LY, González-Ortiz M, Martínez-Abundis E. Effect of Gymnema sylvestre Administration on Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Sensitivity, and Insulin Secretion. J Med Food. 2017;20(8):750-754. doi:10.1089/jmf.2017.0001
2	Antibiotic and Antimicrobial activity	D.R. Saumendu, K.Sarkar, S.Dipankar, T.Singh, and B.Prabha, “In vitroantibiotic activity of various extracts of Gymnema sylv-estre,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and development, vol. 2, pp.1–3,2010. S. Yogisha and K. A. Raveesha, “In Vitro antibacterial effect of selected medicinal plant extracts,” Journal of Natural Products, vol. 2, pp. 64–69, 2009. C. H. Bhuvaneswari, K. Rao, and A. Giri, “Evaluation of Gymnema sylvestre antimicrobial activity in methanol,” recent research in Science and Technology, vol.3, pp.73–75,2011. R. K. Satdive, P. Abhilash, and D. P. Fulzele, “Antimicrobialactivity of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract,”Fitoterapia, vol.74,no. 7-8, pp. 699–701, 2003.
3	Wound Healing activity	J. K. Malik, F. V. Manvi, B. R. Nanjware et al., “Wound healing properties of alcoholic extract of Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. leaves in rats,” Journal of Pharmacy Research, vol.2, pp. 1029–1030,2009. G. Alam, M.P.Singh, and A.Singh, “Wound healing potential o some medicinal plants,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, vol. 9, pp. 136–145, 2011. M. Kiranmai, S. M. Kazim, and M. Ibrahim, “Combined woundhealing activity ofGymnema sylvestreandTagetes erecta linn,”International Journal of Pharmaceutical Applications,vol.2,pp.135–140, 2011. Tiwari P, Mishra BN, Sangwan NS. Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Gymnema sylvestre: an important medicinal plant. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:830285. doi:10.1155/2014/830285
4	Antihyperlipidemic activity	J. G. Hardman, L. E. Limbird, L. S. Goodman, and A. G. Gilman, Goodman and Gilman’s the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, McGraw-Hill, NewYork, NY, USA,10thedition,2001. M. Kaushik, A. Kaushik, R. Arya, G. Singh, and P. Malik, “Anti-obesitypropertyofhexaneextractfromtheleavesofGymnemasylvestrein high fed cafeteria diet-induced obesity rats,” International Research Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 2, pp. 112–116, 2011. K. Yoshikawa, T. Murakami, and H. Matsuda, “Medicinal foodstuffs. IX. The inhibitors of glucose absorption from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae): structures of gym-nemosides A and B,” Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol.45, no. 10, pp. 1671–1676, 1997. Tiwari P, Mishra BN, Sangwan NS. Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Gymnema sylvestre: an important medicinal plant. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:830285. doi:10.1155/2014/830285
5	Immunostimulatory activity	G.E. Trease and W. C. Evans, Pharmacognosy, vol.12, Balliere Tindale, London, UK, 1983. S. N. Gupta, S. Pramanik, O. P. Tiwari, N. Thacker, M. Pande, and N. Upmanyu, “Immunomodulatory activity of Gymnema sylvestreleaves, ”Internet Journal of Pharmacology, vol.8, no.2, pp.1531–2976, 2010. Tiwari P, Mishra BN, Sangwan NS. Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Gymnema sylvestre: an important medicinal plant. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:830285. doi:10.1155/2014/830285
6	Antiarthritic activity	Malik JK, Manvi FV, Nanjware BR, Dwivedi DK, Purohit P, Chouhan S. Anti-arthritic activity of leaves of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. leaves in rats. Der Pharmacia Lettre. 2010;2:336–341. Eric GB, Lawrence JL. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Its Therapy—The Text Book of Therapeutics: Drug and Disease Management. 16th edition. Vol. 16. Baltimore, Md, USA: Williams and Wilkins Company; 1996
7	Anti-Inflammatory activity	Diwan PV, Margaret I, Ramakrishna S. Influence of Gymnema sylvestre on inflammation. Inflammo-pharmacology. 1995;3:271–277 Malik JK, Manvi FV, Alagawadi KR, et al. Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of Gymnema sylvestre leaves extract in rats. International Journal of Green Pharmacy. 2007;2:114–115
8	Metabolic Syndrome	Martínez-Abundis E, Méndez-Del Villar M, Pérez-Rubio KG, et al. Novel nutraceutical therapies for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. World J Diabetes. 2016;7(7):142-152. doi:10.4239/wjd.v7.i7.142. Laura Y. Zuñiga, Manuel González-Ortiz, and Esperanza Martínez-Abundis, Effect of Gymnema sylvestre Administration on Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Sensitivity, and Insulin Secretion,Journal of Medicinal Food 2017 20:8, 750-754 Pothuraju, R., Sharma, R.K., Chagalamarri, J., Jangra, S. and Kumar Kavadi, P. (2014), A systematic review of Gymnema sylvestre in obesity and diabetes management. J. Sci. Food Agric., 94: 834-840. doi:10.1002/jsfa.6458 Kim HJ, Kim S, Lee AY, et al. The Effects of Gymnema sylvestre in High-Fat Diet-Induced Metabolic Disorders. Am J Chin Med. 2017;45(4):813-832. doi:10.1142/S0192415X17500434

Marketed Products

#	AVALAIBLE PRODUCTS	MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS
1	NOW Supplements, Gymnema Sylvestre	NOW Foods
2	Swanson Gymnema Sylvestre Leaf	Swanson Health
3	Puritan's Pride Gymnema Sylvestre 400 mg	Puritan's Pride
4	Optichoice® Gymnepure® 8x - Patented OSA Technology	OptiChoice
5	Vitacloud Gymnema Sylvestre Extract	VITACLOUD
6	Nova Nutritions Gymnema Sylvestre 500mg	Nova Nutritions
7	Himalaya Organic Gymnema Sylvestre 60 Caplets	Himalaya Herbal Healthcare
8	All Natural -Craving Defender	Goshen Organics
9	Inlife Gymnema Sylvestre Supplement 500 mg	Inlife
10	Himalaya Wellness Pure Herbs Meshashringi Metabolic Wellness	The Himalaya Drug Company
11	Zenith Nutrition Resveratrol Plus with Gymnema Sylvestre	Zenith Nutrition
12	Generic Tiens Gymnema Tablets	Generic
13	Dabur GlycoDab	Dabur
14	Baidyanath Madhumehari Granules	Baidyanath
15	SCORTIS HEALTH CARE Gymnema Sylvestre - 250mg	SCORTIS HEALTH CARE
16	Nutriorg Diabetic Care Juice	Nutriorg

Traditional Indian Medicinal Formulations

#	AYURVEDIC FORMULATIONS (TKDL)	SIDDHA FORMULATIONS (TKDL)
1	Trijatyadicurnam	Karappankku Kudineer
2	Varunadigana
3	Varunadiganakvatha
4	Mrtasanjivanisura
5	Mesashrangitailam
6	Mesashrangitailam

Other Polyherbal Formulations

#	POLYHERBAL FORMULATIONS	CITATIONS ON POLYHERBAL FORMULATIONS (PROPERTIES & ACTIVITIES)
1	Madhumehari vati (Sharma, Sachin Kumar; Dave, Alankruta R.; Vasishth, Brijbala; Cholera, M. S.; Sharma, Vasundhara ,Stability study of Madhumehari vati used in the management of type 2 diabetes (Madhumeha) - with respect to baseline microbial diagnostic modalities,European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences,Volume6,Issue7 Pages215-222,Journal; Online Computer File.2019,CODEN:EJBPBO ISSN:2349-8870)	Malik, Abdul; Mehmood, Malik Hassan; Akhtar, Muhammad Shoaib; Haider, Ghulam; Gilani, Anwarul Hassan , Studies on antihyperlipidemic and endothelium modulatory activities of polyherbal formulation (POL4) and its ingredients in high-fat diet-fed rats, Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume30, Issue1, Suppl., Pages295-301 Journal,2017, CODEN: PJPSEN ISSN:1011-601X
2	D-400 (S.D.Anturlikar,S.Gopumadhavan,B.L.CHAUHANANDS.K.MITRA,Effect of D-400,A Herbal formulation on blood sugar of normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. ,IndianJPhysiolPharmacol1995;39(2):95-100)
3	Dianex(Mutalik, S., Chetana, M., Sulochana, B., Devi, P.U. and Udupa, N. (2005), Effect of Dianex, a herbal formulation on experimentally induced diabetes mellitus. Phytother. Res., 19: 409-415. doi:10.1002/ptr.1570)

Market Overview

Global End Use Market

Pharmaceuticals, Health Supplemets.

Available Global Market

500-1000

Global Manufacturer Extract

The Himalaya Drug Company, Nutre's Answer, NutriGold, Hawaii Pharm tattva's herbs, Starwest Botanicals

Distribution in IORA Countries

Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, India, and Sri Lanka.

Trade Data

Source Supply

Tropical and subtropical Asia(humid climate)., Riverine forest and dry shrub savannah

Trade Name

Gudmar

Annual Consumption (in MT)