Indian Gooseberry 

Indian gooseberry, or amla, is a fruit tree that grows natively in parts of Asia.

It has several culinary and herbal medicine uses, particularly in its native India. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and often purported to have potential antioxidant and heart-health benefits.

This article reviews what Indian gooseberry is, its potential benefits and downsides, and how to use it.

 

What is Indian Gooseberry?

Indian gooseberry is known by two scientific names — Phyllanthus emblica and Emblica officinalis. It’s also commonly called Amla 

This small tree has yellow-green flowers that blossom into round, edible fruits of the same color. 

The fruits are about the size of a golf ball with a pit and thin peel. Their taste has been described as sour, bitter, and astringent.

The fruit is used in cooking in India, and most supplements on the market today are made only from the powdered, dried fruit or fruit extracts. 

However, the whole plant — including the fruit, leaves, and seeds — is utilized in traditional Indian medicine (1).

 

Potential Benefits

Indian gooseberry has several potential benefits, although more high quality studies in humans are needed to confirm many of these possible effects.

 

Heartburn

One 4-week, high quality study in 68 people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is characterized by frequent heartburn, investigated the effects of taking 1,000 mg of amla fruit tablets daily on GERD symptoms (2).

Researchers observed that the amla fruit group experienced greater reductions in the frequency and severity of heartburn and vomiting than those in the placebo group (2).

Though this study is promising, more research is needed to fully understand the effects of Indian gooseberry supplements on heartburn and GERD.

 

Anti-aging

Due to its high vitamin C content, Indian gooseberry may have some promising anti-aging benefits. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can help prevent cellular damage, which may help slow your body’s natural aging process (3).

Some anti-aging benefits of Indian gooseberry include:

 

Skin

In addition to its antioxidant activity, Indian gooseberry may help prevent the breakdown of collagen, which forms the firm but flexible protein matrix in your skin and soft tissues (4, 5).

 

Hair

Indian gooseberry extract is commonly used in Thailand to promote hair growth, and some evidence shows that it may inhibit an enzyme that contributes to hair loss (6).

 

Vision

In test-tube studies, Indian gooseberry extract protected against age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by improving the mitochondrial health of eye cells (7).

 

Cancer

In test-tube and animal studies, Indian gooseberry extracts have killed certain types of cancer cells, including breast, cervical, ovarian, and lung cancers (8).

Additionally, Indian gooseberry extracts may play a role in cancer prevention due to their antioxidant activity. It appears that Indian gooseberry may also help prevent cell mutations that lead to tumor growth and cancer development (8).

It’s thought that the many phytochemicals, such as tannins and flavonoids, in Indian gooseberries play a role in cancer prevention, along with its vitamin C and antioxidant content (8).

However, no research on Indian gooseberry and cancer has been conducted in humans, so this is far from a confirmed benefit. If you have cancer, be sure to follow the advice and recommendations of your healthcare team.

 

Heart Health

One of the most common uses of Indian gooseberry is to promote heart health. There are many ways in which Indian gooseberry may decrease your risk of heart disease, including:

 

Antioxidant Effects

Indian gooseberry extracts may protect against oxidative damage that’s associated with heart injury. This has been noted in several animal studies (9, 10, 11).

 

Regulates Endothelial Function

A study in people with type 2 diabetes found taking 1,000 mg of Indian gooseberry daily improved endothelial function to the same extent as the drug atorvastatin (12, 13).

 

Anti-inflammatory Effects

Human studies have noted that Indian gooseberry can significantly reduce inflammation, which is considered a key factor in the development of heart disease (12, 14, 15).

 

Normalizes Blood Fat Levels

Human studies have observed improved blood fat profiles after supplementing with Indian gooseberry, including lower triglyceride and total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as increased HDL (good) cholesterol (12, 14, 16, 17).

 

Reduces Blood Pressure

Indian gooseberry may help reduce high blood pressure levels by acting as a vasodilator, or by widening the blood vessels. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease (15, 18).

 

Anti-platelet Effects

Finally, supplementing with Indian gooseberry may help prevent the formation of blood clots, which may cause a heart attack or stroke if they block an artery (15).

Still, although some human studies have been conducted, more research is needed before Indian gooseberry can be claimed to be an effective heart health supplement.

 

Blood Sugar Levels

In animal studies, Indian gooseberry has been shown to help lower blood sugar levels (19, 20, 21).

These effects have also been noted in a small study in 32 people, in which taking 1–3 grams of Indian gooseberry powder daily for 21 days significantly decreased fasting and post-meal blood sugar levels, compared with a control group (17).

Given these blood-sugar-lowering effects, Indian gooseberry may play a role in preventing and treating type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, more high quality human studies are needed.

 

Liver Damage

In rat studies, Indian gooseberry extract protected against liver damage caused by either a high fat diet or N-nitrosodiethylamine, a substance that’s toxic to the liver. This is likely due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity (22, 23, 24).

However, this effect hasn’t yet been investigated in humans.

 

Immune Health

Finally, Indian gooseberry may have some immune-strengthening effects due to its vitamin C content. A single Indian gooseberry contains approximately 600–800% of the Daily Value (DV) for this vitamin (25).

Vitamin C can optimize immune health in several ways. It’s an antioxidant, so it works to decrease cellular damage and inflammation (26). 

While short-term inflammation is a normal and healthy immune response, chronic inflammation is an ongoing immune response that can promote poor health (27).

Chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of developing conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or autoimmune disorders (27).

What’s more, vitamin C may help bolster your immune system by promoting the proliferation of phagocytes, which are specialized immune cells that help swallow up harmful invaders (26).

It may also help your body develop protective antibodies against perceived threats (26).

 

Potential Downsides

Sourcing fresh Indian gooseberries may be a challenge unless you live near a specialty Indian or Asian market. Still, you can buy dried Indian gooseberries online.

Additionally, taking it as a supplement may have some side effects.

Due to its anti-platelet properties, Indian gooseberry can thin your blood and prevent normal blood clotting (15). 

If you have a bleeding disorder or are taking a blood thinner, you should talk to your healthcare provider before eating Indian gooseberry, drinking it as a tea, or taking it as a supplement.

You should also stop taking Indian gooseberry prior to surgery because of this bleeding risk.

There’s also some evidence that it may lower blood sugar levels, so if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes or other blood sugar management conditions, you should be mindful of this (17).

Given the lack of evidence regarding its safety, you should also avoid Indian gooseberry if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive.