Gymnema sylvestre.
Vern .—Beng. and Hind. — Mera-singi; Sans. — Meshasringi; Tam.
Shiru-kurunja •, Tel. — Poda-patra ; Bom. — Kavali.
A shrubby climbing plant, natural order “Asclepiadece,” common in Central and Southern India and on the Western side, plentiful about Bombay. The Leaves have the remarkable property when chewed of deadening the sense of taste to sweet and bitter substances, a property which it has been suggested might be utilized in disguising the taste of nauseous and bitter medicines.
A careful analysis of the leaves by Hooper has revealed the presence of a glucoside which he has named “Gymnemic Acid.” It forms more than six per cent of the composition of the leaves in combination with a base which is inorganic. It is related in some particulars to glycyrrhizic acid, but having some distinctly peculiar reactions and having the anti-saccharine properly alluded to. Tartaric acid and a neutral principle were also found to be present.
Research shows, Gymnema sylvestre is a plant, which belongs to the family of Asclepiadaceae. Gymnema sylvestre is indigenous to Banda and the Deccan Peninsula. The leaves of Gymnema sylvestre when chewed, possess the peculiar property of rendering imperceptible the sweet taste of sugar or other saccharine substances, and also, but in a less marked degree, the taste of many bitter substances. This property is due to a substance, or mixture of substances, which has been designated “gymnemic acid.” In the course of an investigation of these leaves a laevorotatory stereoisomeride of quercitol was isolated.
To see Gymnema sylvestre in action, let us first take a look at Synsepalum dulcificum.
Synsepalum dulcificum is recognized for its berry. Synsepalum dulcificum causes sour foods such as lemons and limes to taste sweet when eaten. This is due to miraculin.
“Synsepalum dulcificum” plants are densely foliated bushes. They attain a height of about eight feet and produce miracle fruit berries. Early efforts to grow these plants in the U.S. failed. In West Africa the plants thrive and miracle fruit has been used by the natives for centuries to sweeten certain foods.
Now we might better appreciate and more easily see how these unique properties of Gymnema sylvestre can benefit those seeking to lose weight.
Herborists see U.S. Army scientist, Linda M. Bartoshuk (married name, Summerfield) as the “Madame Curie of miracle fruit.”
They support the work of Mrs. Summerfield who introduced her presentation of a technical paper at the 1970 U.S. Army Science Conference.
In her paper she reports, that the effects of miracle fruit on the taste buds can be counteracted by the chewing of leaves from Gymnema sylvestre, a woody climbing plant that runs over the tops of high trees in a large portion of southern India as well as in Ceylon and tropical Africa.
Normally, the sweetness of chewing miracle fruit or a portion of a pill derived from miracle fruit persists about an hour, but the effect can be offset almost immediately by chewing a leaf from the Gymnema sylvestre. The report goes on to conclude that chewing such a leaf destroyed the taste of sugar in tea, and that the suppressive effect lasted about 24 hours.
Mrs. Summerfield, who has performed extensive research on effects of the sweetness-counteracting leaf, believes that its qualities will also find numerous applications as a tool in taste physiology studies.
Her paper states that both Gymnema sylvestre and miracle fruit also have many direct applications in the area of palatability enhancement. These are occasions when sugar has desirable properties in the processing of food but then leaves the final products too sweet.
Gymnema sylvestre can be diluted to suppress sweetness by a desired amount. In addition, it can curb the intake of sweets. A snack containing the proper amount of Gymnema sylvestre would make sweets unpalatable.
Thanks to its unique proprties, Gymnema sylvestre and its possible uses in weight loss seem endless. Speak to herborists today about Gymnema sylvestre.
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