Indian Gooseberry Supplement

Scientific Name: Phyllanthus emblica

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Order: Malpighiales

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Family: Phyllanthaceae

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Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica; synonym: Emblica officinalis) is often called amla. The fruit from this small tree are widely used in Ayurveda (a form of alternative medicine practiced in India). The fruit are also eaten and have high amounts of vitamin C. Do not confuse Indian gooseberry with gooseberry or the other Phyllanthus species used in traditional medicine (i.e., black catnip, chamberbitter, and stonebreaker).

Strong:

insufficient information

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Good:

insufficient information

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Promising:

• Oral Health [1-4]
  • A mouthwash containing Indian gooseberry, Terminalia chebula, and Terminalia bellirica may be effective in treating dental plaque and gingivitis in children; and have anti-bacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans

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Conflicting (Unclear):

insufficient information

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Limited Evidence:

• Antioxidant for Uremic Patients [5]
• Dry Eyes (and other eye disorders), eye drop containing Indian gooseberry, turmeric, Carum copticum, Terminalia bellirica, Ocimum sanctum, Cinnamomum camphora, Rosa damascene, and meldespumapum [6]
• Head Lice, a shampoo containing Indian gooseberry, Acorus calamus, and Zanthoxylum limonella [7]
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Clearance, a curcumin vaginal cream containing Indian gooseberry [8]
• Melasma, a cream containing Indian gooseberry, licorice, and belides [9]
• Osteoarthritis/Joint Pain, an extract of Indian gooseberry / ginger / Tinospora cordifolia / Boswellia serrata was as effective as glucosamine sulfate and celecoxib [10]
• Reduces Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Overweight/Obese Adults [11]
• Skin Lightening for Patients with Mild to Moderate Facial Dyschromia, an Indian gooseberry extract with kojic acid and glycolic acid [12]
• Skin Protectant [13]
• Type 2 Diabetes [14-15]
• Vitiligo, an Indian gooseberry fruit extract in combination with vitamin E and carotenoids [16]

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No Evidence:

insufficient information

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No Clinical Research:

All other conditions.

Side effects may include:

• Side effects have not been studied.

Precautions and Adverse Events:

• Use caution or contact a licensed healthcare practitioner, since there is not enough research on the use of supplements containing Indian gooseberry.

• However, one study found that a curcumin vaginal cream containing Indian gooseberry caused vaginal irritation and itching.

[17-18]

There is not enough research on the use of supplements containing Indian gooseberry during pregnancy and breast-feeding, so consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before use or avoid use.

Major:

• Aspirin
• Clopidogrel

[19]

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Moderate:

insufficient information

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Potential:

insufficient information

Indian gooseberry is not a "drug", the best doses have not been thoroughly established. Make sure to follow the specific product instructions and take as directed on the label or consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before use.

[Afendi et al. 2012]

1. Bhattacharjee R, Nekkanti S, Kumar NG, Kapuria K, Acharya S, Pentapati KC. Efficacy of triphala mouth rinse (aqueous extracts) on dental plaque and gingivitis in children. J Investig Clin Dent. 2015 Aug;6(3):206-10. doi: 10.1111/jicd.12094. Epub 2014 May 22. PubMed PMID: 24850703. 2. Chainani SH, Siddana S, Reddy C, Manjunathappa TH, Manjunath M, Rudraswamy S. Antiplaque and antigingivitis efficacy of triphala and chlorhexidine mouthrinse among schoolchildren - a cross-over, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Oral Health Prev Dent. 2014;12(3):209-17. doi: 10.3290/j.ohpd.a32674. PubMed PMID: 25197734. 3. Srinagesh J, Pushpanjali K. Assessment of antibacterial efficacy of triphala against mutans streptococci: a randomised control trial. Oral Health Prev Dent. 2011;9(4):387-93. PubMed PMID: 22238738. 4. Srinagesh J, Krishnappa P, Somanna SN. Antibacterial efficacy of triphala against oral streptococci: an in vivo study. Indian J Dent Res. 2012 Sep-Oct;23(5):696. doi: 10.4103/0970-9290.107423. PubMed PMID: 23422630. 5. Chen TS, Liou SY, Chang YL. Supplementation of Emblica officinalis (Amla) extract reduces oxidative stress in uremic patients. Am J Chin Med. 2009;37(1):19-25. PubMed PMID: 19222108. 6. Biswas NR, Gupta SK, Das GK, Kumar N, Mongre PK, Haldar D, Beri S. Evaluation of Ophthacare eye drops--a herbal formulation in the management of various ophthalmic disorders. Phytother Res. 2001 Nov;15(7):618-20. PubMed PMID: 11746845. 7. Soonwera M. Efficacy of herbal shampoo base on native plant against head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer, Pediculidae: Phthiraptera) in vitro and in vivo in Thailand. Parasitol Res. 2014 Sep;113(9):3241-50. doi: 10.1007/s00436-014-3986-6. Epub 2014 Jun 20. PubMed PMID: 24948104. 8. Basu P, Dutta S, Begum R, Mittal S, Dutta PD, Bharti AC, Panda CK, Biswas J, Dey B, Talwar GP, Das BC. Clearance of cervical human papillomavirus infection by topical application of curcumin and curcumin containing polyherbal cream: a phase II randomized controlled study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14(10):5753-9. PubMed PMID: 24289574. 9. Costa A, Moisés TA, Cordero T, Alves CR, Marmirori J. Association of emblica, licorice and belides as an alternative to hydroquinone in the clinical treatment of melasma. An Bras Dermatol. 2010 Sep-Oct;85(5):613-20. PubMed PMID: 21152784. 10. Chopra A, Saluja M, Tillu G, Sarmukkaddam S, Venugopalan A, Narsimulu G, Handa R, Sumantran V, Raut A, Bichile L, Joshi K, Patwardhan B. Ayurvedic medicine offers a good alternative to glucosamine and celecoxib in the treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled equivalence drug trial. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013 Aug;52(8):1408-17. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kes414. Epub 2013 Jan 30. PubMed PMID: 23365148. 11. Khanna S, Das A, Spieldenner J, Rink C, Roy S. Supplementation of a standardized extract from Phyllanthus emblica improves cardiovascular risk factors and platelet aggregation in overweight/class-1 obese adults. J Med Food. 2015 Apr;18(4):415-20. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2014.0178. Epub 2015 Mar 10. PubMed PMID: 25756303; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4390209. 12. Draelos ZD, Yatskayer M, Bhushan P, Pillai S, Oresajo C. Evaluation of a kojic acid, emblica extract, and glycolic acid formulation compared with hydroquinone 4% for skin lightening. Cutis. 2010 Sep;86(3):153-8. PubMed PMID: 21049734. 13. Chaudhuri RK. Emblica cascading antioxidant: a novel natural skin care ingredient. Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol. 2002 Sep-Oct;15(5):374-80. Review. PubMed PMID: 12239434. 14. Akhtar MS, Ramzan A, Ali A, Ahmad M. Effect of Amla fruit (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) on blood glucose and lipid profile of normal subjects and type 2 diabetic patients. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2011 Sep;62(6):609-16. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2011.560565. Epub 2011 Apr 18. PubMed PMID: 21495900. 15. Manjunatha S, Jaryal AK, Bijlani RL, Sachdeva U, Gupta SK. Effect of Chyawanprash and vitamin C on glucose tolerance and lipoprotein profile. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2001 Jan;45(1):71-9. PubMed PMID: 11211574. 16. Colucci R, Dragoni F, Conti R, Pisaneschi L, Lazzeri L, Moretti S. Evaluation of an oral supplement containing Phyllanthus emblica fruit extracts, vitamin E, and carotenoids in vitiligo treatment. Dermatol Ther. 2015 Jan-Feb;28(1):17-21. doi: 10.1111/dth.12172. Epub 2014 Oct 6. PubMed PMID: 25285994. 17. Basu P, Dutta S, Begum R, Mittal S, Dutta PD, Bharti AC, Panda CK, Biswas J, Dey B, Talwar GP, Das BC. Clearance of cervical human papillomavirus infection by topical application of curcumin and curcumin containing polyherbal cream: a phase II randomized controlled study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14(10):5753-9. PubMed PMID: 24289574. 18. DerMarderosian A, Beutler JA. The review of natural products: the most complete source of natural product information. 7th ed. St. Louis, MO, USA: Wolters Kluwer Health; 2012. 19. Fatima N, Pingali U, Muralidhar N. Study of pharmacodynamic interaction of Phyllanthus emblica extract with clopidogrel and ecosprin in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Phytomedicine. 2014 Apr 15;21(5):579-85. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2013.10.024. Epub 2013 Nov 28. PubMed PMID: 24291054. 20. Afendi FM, Okada T, Yamazaki M, Hirai-Morita A, Nakamura Y, Nakamura K, Ikeda S, Takahashi H, Altaf-Ul-Amin M, Darusman LK, Saito K, Kanaya S. KNApSAcK family databases: integrated metabolite-plant species databases for multifaceted plant research. Plant Cell Physiol. 2012 Feb;53(2):e1.