About
What it is and where it shows up.
Garcinia cambogia is a tropical fruit tree native to India and Southeast Asia whose dried rind is traditionally used as a food preservative and souring spice, particularly in fish curries. The rind's key bioactive, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), inhibits ATP-citrate lyase and has been heavily marketed as a weight-loss dietary supplement.
Safety summary
The regulatory and scientific consensus.
More than 200 adverse events of liver injury linked to Garcinia supplement consumption have been identified in FDA and international databases, including cases requiring liver transplantation and two fatalities. Hepatotoxicity is the primary documented risk, with additional CNS, cardiac, and renal adverse events reported; no formal Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) has been established by any major regulatory body. The causal mechanism remains under active investigation by EFSA (query EFSA-Q-2022-00805, opinion pending as of 2025).
Regulatory landscape
What food-safety regulators have decided.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ANSM (France) | Banned | ANSM Director General issued a ban on 12 April 2012 prohibiting import, preparation, prescription, dispensing, and human use of preparations containing G. cambogia, citing an unfavourable benefit/risk ratio. France's food supplement 'plants' decree does not include G. cambogia.source |
| FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) (Australia) | Restricted | TGA completed an investigation and concluded that available evidence shows a rare risk of liver injury from Garcinia gummi-gutta (Garcinia cambogia); one of five liver transplantation cases in global literature was Australian. Products remain permitted under the complementary medicines framework with required safety labelling.source |
| Health Canada (Canada) | Restricted | Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Database recorded 123 adverse event reactions to Garcinia through April 2025, including nausea, cardiac arrhythmias, acute kidney injury, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Licensed natural health products containing Garcinia exist in the Licensed Natural Health Products Database (Health Canada).source |
| FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States) | Restricted | In 2009 FDA requested withdrawal of Garcinia cambogia from Hydroxycut® preparations due to 23 cases of liver damage including one death and one liver transplant. Garcinia supplements remain legally marketable as dietary supplements under DSHEA but are not FDA-approved; FDA has issued multiple warning letters for unapproved drug claims. |
Who should approach with care
Whose guidance would steer them away.
Liver Disease — More than 200 adverse event reports of hepatic injury — including acute liver failure requiring transplantation — have been attributed to Garcinia supplement consumption, making it contraindicated in anyone with pre-existing liver disease.
Pregnancy — NCCIH states that little is known about the safety of Garcinia cambogia during pregnancy, and the documented hepatotoxicity risk warrants avoidance as a precaution.
Lactation — Safety during breastfeeding is unstudied; given documented systemic toxicity risks, use during lactation should be avoided pending authoritative guidance.
Children — Most commercial Garcinia supplement products carry labelling recommending suitability for adults only; pediatric safety data are absent.
Diabetes — HCA in Garcinia cambogia has been claimed to affect blood sugar and cholesterol regulation; concurrent use with antidiabetic medications carries a potential interaction risk requiring medical supervision.
Research citations
The sources behind this verdict.
- 1PubMed. Hepatotoxicity of dietary supplements containing Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 2other. Scoping Paper on the Potential Risk(s) of Garcinia cambogia Oral Consumption — Committee on Toxicity (COT), UK FSA, 2025. cot.food.gov.uk
- 3NCCIH (NIH). Garcinia Cambogia: Usefulness and Safety, 2023. nccih.nih.gov
- 4FSSAI. FSS (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations — Schedule II Botanical List, 2022. fssai.gov.in
- 5PubMed / NCBI LiverTox. Garcinia Cambogia — LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury, 2019. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 6PubMed. Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of hydroxycitric acid or Garcinia cambogia extracts in humans, 2012.
Independently researched6 citations