Metabollic Syndrome 
 

Gymnema is a woody climbing shrub native to India and Africa. The leaves are used to make medicine. Gymnema has a long history of use in India’s Ayurvedic medicine. The Hindi name, gurmar, means "destroyer of sugar."

Today, gymnema is used for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, weight loss, and cough. It is also used for malaria and as a snake bite antidote, digestive stimulant, laxative, appetite suppressant, and diuretic.

How does it work?

Gymnema contains substances that decrease the absorption of sugar from the intestine. Gymnema may also increase the amount of insulin in the body and increase the growth of cells in the pancreas, which is the place in the body where insulin is made.

• Diabetes. Developing research suggests that taking a specific gymnema extract (GS4) by mouth, in combination with insulin or diabetes medications, can enhance blood sugar reduction in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome.
• Weight loss.
• Stimulating digestion.
• Malaria.
• Cough.
• Snake bites.
• Softening the stool (laxative).
• Increasing urine excretion (diuretic).

More evidence is needed to rate gymnema for these uses.