(ANN/AFP/THE STAR) – France warned on March 5 (2025) against dietary supplements promising weight loss that use the tropical plant Garcinia cambogia.
This was after a range of rare, but serious, side effects, including one death, were reported.
Also known as Malabar tamarind or by its current scientific name Garcinia gummi-gutta, this plant grows in India and South-East Asia, and has a fruit that looks like a pumpkin.
Various supplements are marketed globally with extracts from the plant, promoting its capacity to suppress appetite and promote weight loss – assertions lacking thorough scientific validation.
After investigating the death of a person who consumed a Garcinia-based supplement, and examining other side effects reported in the United States and elsewhere, French food safety agency ANSES said it “strongly advises” people against consuming the plant.
Since 2012, the use of Garcinia cambogia in medicine has been prohibited in France; however, it remains promoted in over 340 dietary supplements largely sold online, the agency stated.
There were 38 cases of serious side effects affecting the liver, pancreas, heart, muscles and mental health reported in France between 2009 and last March, ANSES said.
The agency noted that these side effects may impact individuals with a background of psychiatric conditions, pancreatitis, or hepatitis, along with those dealing with diabetes, obesity, or hypertension.
People taking antidepressants, antiretrovirals or drugs that affect the liver can also experience side effects.
A 71-year-old woman in France taking blood pressure drugs died of acute hepatitis in 2019 after taking the Garcinia-based supplement Slim Metabol.
ANSES says her death was “very likely” linked to the supplement, which remains on sale.
However, people without a history of health problems can also be affected.
“A 32-year-old woman with no medical history developed myocarditis that led to her requiring a heart transplant,” ANSES nutrition risk assessment unit head Aymeric Dopter noted.
“Some people will tell you: ‘I took it and I am fine’. But we can see from these few cases that people who were simply trying to lose weight ended up with seriously impaired health, or even died. It is not worth the risk.”
The safety of products using Garcinia cambogia is currently being assessed by the European Food Safety Agency.
The watchdog is also investigating the dangers of hydroxycitric acid, an ingredient derived from the Garcinia plant’s fruit, which is also utilised in supplements promoting weight loss.
ANSES has called for the list of plants authorised for use in food supplements to be “harmonised” across the European Union.
