Emblica
Scientific Name(s): Phyllanthus emblica L. Family: Euphorbiaceae. Synonym: Emblica officinalis Gaertn.
Common Name(s): Indian gooseberry , Amalaki , Emblic Myrobalan , Nelli , Amalakam , Sriphalam , Gebrau chilicher , Amlabaum , Amla , Ziphiyu-si , Shabju , Amlaj , Amulch , Toppinelli , Ngop , An moLe , Yeowkan Tse . Emblica is one of the constituents in the Ayurvedic preparations of Triphala, Hyponidd, Kalpaamruthaa, and Chyavanprash.
Clinical Overview
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Uses of Emblica
Emblica exhibits strong antioxidant activity. It was one of the most important plants in Ayurvedic medicine as well as in other traditional health systems for its immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, and anticancer actions. However, there is no clinical evidence to support the use of emblica for any indication.
Emblica Dosing
There are no published clinical studies to support dosing. A dose of 3 to 6 g/day of powdered emblica has been extrapolated from a vitamin C 1 g/day dose.
Contraindications
Contraindications have not been identified.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.
Emblica Interactions
None well documented.
Emblica Adverse Reactions
Research reveals little or no information regarding adverse reactions with the use of this product.
Toxicology
No major toxicities have been reported.
Botany
Emblica is a deciduous tree native to India and the Middle East. The round, greenish-yellow fruits are commonly used in the Indian diet. Its leaves are feather-like with pale green flowers. 1
History
A method of emblica preparation has been described in the 1 st century AD in Sanskrit. Records of the medicinal use of emblica also have been found in Arabic, Iraqi, Tibetan, and Egyptian texts, as well as in the Sidha (Indian), Ayurvedic, and Unani systems of medicine. 2 , 3
Chemistry
The fruits of the plant are most commonly used. They contain a high concentration of ascorbic acid, which degrades with heating or cooking. In addition, the fruits contain phenols, including ellagic acid, gallic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, corilagin, geraniin, furosin, gallotanins, emblicanins, flavonoids, glycosides, and proanthocyanidins. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 The leaves contain phenols similar to those found in the fruits. The roots contain glycosides and tannins. 14 , 15
Emblica Uses and Pharmacology
Few human trials are documented despite the widespread use of emblica in traditional health systems.
Antioxidant actionMost of the properties assigned to emblica are attributed to its strong antioxidant action. 10 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19
The ascorbic acid content of the fruit has been assayed at approximately 1 g per 100 mL of fresh fruit juice and accounts for 45% to 70% of the antioxidant activity. 5 The Ayurvedic process of preparing the amla berry results in a 3-fold increase of ascorbic acid and an increase in the concentration of polyphenols. This procedure mixes dried fruit powder with fresh emblica juice for a few hours, and then the mix is dried and powdered again. This process is repeated up to 21 times, making this method of fruit processing nutritionally beneficial. 5
Other compounds having antioxidant properties include the emblicanins, gallic acid, methyl gallate, corilagin, furosin, and geraniin. 5 , 8
Cardiac effectsAnimal data
The fruits of emblica showed a protective effect against ischemic reperfusion injury in rats. 20 In another study, the emblicanins were demonstrated to prevent oxidative stress. 11
GI actionAnimal data
Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of emblica have consistently shown protective and healing effects in alcohol-induced gastric ulcers in animal experiments. Gastric sections are decreased, acidity reduced, and mucosal injury lessened. Mucus secretions are increased and the life span of mucosal cells increased. Similar results have been shown in hypothermic stress, indomethacin-induced, and pyloris ligation-induced ulcers. Mixed results were obtained for aspirin-induced ulcers. 6 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24
Hepatoprotective effectsAnimal data
Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the fruits of emblica have shown hepatoprotective properties in experiments in rats. Hepatic insults include antituberculosis drugs, ethanol, thiacetamide, carbon tetrachloride, and cyclophosphamide. The experiments demonstrated histological and/or enzymatic protective and restorative effects. A decreased severity of hepatic fibrosis was also demonstrated. 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30
Cholesterol-lowering effectsAnimal data
A number of animal experiments reported a reduction in serum and tissue cholesterol. 13 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 Flavonoid extracts from the fruits of emblica inhibited synthesis and enhanced degradation of cholesterol via increased hepatic HMG-CoA reductase. 12 Low-density lipoprotein and very low-density lipoprotein were reduced while high-density lipoprotein remained unchanged in one experiment. Fresh emblica fruit juice administered to rabbits resulted in induced aortic plaques regressing to near normal, while serum and tissue lipids decreased. 35
Clinical dataIn a human clinical trial, healthy and hypercholesterolemic men (35 to 55 years of age) given emblica supplementation for 28 days experienced a decrease in serum cholesterol levels. The condition was reversible upon discontinuation of the supplement. 38
DiabetesAnimal data
In single- and multidose experiments, emblica decreased blood glucose levels in rats with an induced diabetic state. 13 , 16 , 17 , 39 Triphala (mixed preparation containing emblica) showed a stronger effect than emblica alone, 39 and Hyponidd (another mixed preparation) reduced blood glucose in a manner similar to glibenclamide. 17 Serum creatinine was reduced, and serum albumin increased within 20 days in rats fed emblica. 17
Anticancer effectsMuch interest surrounds the potential for emblica in cancer; however, there are no published clinical trials or epidemiological data. Emblica has inhibited induced mutagenesis in Salmonella strains. 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 A dose-dependent effect was demonstrated in one experiment, 41 while emblica was the least active of 5 plants tested in another. 42
Another study reported that an aqueous extract of emblica inhibited dose-dependent hepatocarcinogenesis as measured by parameters such as tumor incidence, enzyme measurements, and other liver injury markers. 43 , 44
Animal dataIn response to heavy metal carcinogens (arsenic, chromium, nickel), rats given emblica extracts showed a reduction in the number of chromosomal aberrations, number of damaged cells, frequency of micronuclei in bone marrow cells, free radical production, and increased cell survival. 45 , 46 , 47 , 48
Emblica extracts protected irradiated mice from radiation sickness, increased the 30-day survival rate, and decreased total mortality. 49 , 50
In response to tumor cells (lymphoma and mammary carcinoma), mice fed emblica extracts showed an increase in activity of natural killer cells, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and survival. 43 , 51 , 52 In one of these experiments, there was no effect on development of tumors, but a decrease in tumor volume was shown. 45 Cytotoxicity to tumor cells has been demonstrated by organic acid gallates and hydrolysable tannins. 9 One report has been published in which emblica had no effect in reducing lung cancer parameters in mice. 53
Other usesAnalgesic/Antipyretic
Alcohol and aqueous extracts of emblica fruit were tested for analgesic and antipyretic activity in mice. Results were similar to aspirin, except for response to heat pain in which model emblica had no activity. 54
AntimicrobialAlcoholic and aqueous extracts of emblica showed positive results in in vitro activity against certain dermatophytes 55 and against common human pathogens, although no comparisons were made with standard antibiotics. 56 , 57
AntitussiveAn alcoholic extract of the fruits showed a dose-dependent effect similar to dropropizine in cats but was less active than codeine. 58
AntivenomAn alcoholic extract of the roots of emblica showed neutralizing capacity against the hemorrhagic action of snake venom in mice. 59
ImmuneRats exposed to noise stress for 15 days and given Triphala showed an increased neutrophil function and lowered cortisone release. 60 However, in another experiment, an aqueous extract of emblica fruits had no effect on cold stress-induced cortisone release. 23
OphthalmicEmblica is one of the components of a mixed herbal eye drop formulation ( Ophthacare ) that showed activity in mild infections and inflammatory eye conditions in a clinical study; however, study methodology was poor. 61
Dosage
There are no published clinical studies to support dosing. A dose of 3 to 6 g/day of powdered emblica has been extrapolated from a vitamin C 1 g/day dose. 48 An LD 50 in rats has been suggested at 1 g/kg body weight, but 2.5 g/kg has been used in cancer studies in animals. 23 , 45
Pregnancy/Lactation
Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.
Interactions
None well documented.
Adverse Reactions
Research reveals little or no information regarding adverse reactions with the use of this product. Experiments in animals have shown no reported adverse reactions.
Toxicology
No major reported toxicities have been associated with the fruit. In toxicity studies in rats, no toxicity was observed in single- or chronic-dose administration. Additionally, no detrimental effect was noted on liver or renal function. 23 No chromosomal aberrations were found following 7- and 14-day treatment regimens in rats with crude fruit extract. 44 In another experiment, no toxicity or mutagenicity were observed in rats even at the highest doses administered. 41
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