Welcome

Hello and Welcome!

Allow me to help you discover a richly nutritious fruit, Amla (the Indian Gooseberry), whose health advantages were discovered centuries ago, and are still being uncovered today. This blog covers a brief history, traditional uses, active constituents, current uses, latest scientific research and potential adverse effects of this fruit.

I hope this blog will spark your interest, and encourage you to learn more about Amla.

Sources/References

Please find the link to all the sources for articles, published researches, and figures below. You may also access it via the tab "Sources" at the top of the page.

http://amlaforlife.blogspot.com/p/sources.html

How it all began

Wild Amla Tree
Figure source: Pravin Panjaje, Flickr. (2009)

What and where:

The “rejuvenator”, the “sustainer”, “Amalaki”, Amla, Indian Gooseberry; the list of names goes on. It appears the list of health benefits bestowed by this fruit is equally lengthy, if not lengthier.  Amla is the fruit of Phyllanthus Emblica Linn (synonym Emblica Officianlis), a deciduous medium-sized tree, found largely in the sub-tropical mountainous regions of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (Dharmananda, 2003; Ihantola-Vormisto et al., 1997). While the benefits of the fruit are more widely known, in reality, all parts of the tree (the roots, bark, leaves, seeds, and fruit) have their own advantages (Dharmanada, 2003). 

When and why:

Amla is a major ingredient
of Chayavanprash Figure source: Astro Nutrition

The use of this plant originates from the 5000 year old traditional Indian medical system Ayurveda, particularly “Rasayana”, a discipline of Ayurveda that focuses on enhancing good health, preventing disease, boosting the immune system, as well as rejuvenating and revitalizing the body and mind (Krishnaveni, 2010). The strong belief in “prevention is better than cure” has led to Amla being incorporated in several supplementary health tonics (where it is a major ingredient) including “Triphala” and “Chayavanprash” to promote health and longevity (Dharmananda, 2003). In India, Amla is also popularly used in hair oils, with advertisements screaming of its ability to make hair healthy, thick, long and shiny.  Not surprisingly, it is even believed to have several medicinal properties. It was, and still is used extensively not only in India, but also in Iran, Iraq, Thailand, China, Italy, Germany (et cetera) as a laxative, diuretic, astringent and antinauseant. It is also used to treat anemia, jaundice, tumors and much more- the list goes on (Unander, 1990).

Various uses of Amla: Left- Amla (outermost circle) is one of the three herbs that  constitutes Triphala.
Middle: Amla Hair Oil applied topically. Right: Amla eaten as pickles.
Figure Source: Given in "Sources section"

What's in it? Active components and preparation

Amla: a rich source of Vitamin C

The culprits:
Highly nutritious, the Amla fruit is rich in Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), is a source of invaluable minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper and more, as well as a source of some amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartic acid and others) (Dweck et al.). Additionally, it is abundant in polyphenols, particularly tannins that are derived from gallic acid and ellagic acid, including emblicanin A and B, punigluconin and pedunculagin. It also contains other useful compounds such as rutin, an example of a flavanoid (Dharmananda, 2003). 

Individual or team work?
Initially, the therapeutic properties of Amla were accounted for by the high vitamin C content. Studies are now revealing that it is in fact a combination of all the active ingredients that confers disease treatment, disease prevention and health promotion (Dharmananda, 2003). However, ongoing research is also shedding light onto the individual therapeutic benefits of isolated active compounds of Amla (Kumaran et al., 2003). 

4 active constituents of Amla: Clockwise starting from the top left-- Emblicanin A, Emblicanin B, Punigluconin, Pedunculagin. Figure Source: Dweck et. al (2003). 

Administration:

Amla is usually administered orally as an extract (in a capsule or tonic) or as a fresh/dried/powdered/juice form of the fruit. It may also be applied topically.  

Amla taken orally in the form of fresh fruit or juice. 
Figure source: ehealthyland.com

Today is a gift. That is why it's called the present: current uses and what the science says

Passed on from generation to generation
Figure source: Moubamba  (2009)

Like a family heirloom, Amla’s ‘not-so-secret’ uses are being passed on proudly from one generation to the next. It is used today as it was years ago- health tonics (Chayavanprash and Triphala), hair oils (Amla hair oil), as an anti-inflammatory, anti-nauseant, antioxidant, to protect and/or treat irregularities of the liver (ex. biliousness), blood (ex. anemia), gastrointestinal tract (ex. indigestion), et cetera (Ishtiaq et al., 2007). Presently, specific protective and healing properties are being explored along with further investigations into its pharmacodynamics, i.e. mechanisms of action in the body (example its efficacy in protecting against hepatocarcinogenesis and how it may do so) (Sultana, 2008).  

But wait.. there's more: Amla versus diabetic cataract

Cataract in human eye
Figure source: Wikipedia

A well-executed experiment by Suranarayana et al. (2007) demonstrated yet another positive outcome of Amla consumption. In this 8-week randomized vehicle-controlled open-label trial, the efficacy of Amla in delaying cataract progression in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats was questioned. Rats were divided into four groups: Group I was a non-diabetic vehicle control group, Group II was a non-treated diabetic group, Group III had diabetic rats treated with a standardized extract of tannins as found in Amla (including emblicanin A and B, rutin, gallic acid, punigluconin and pedunculagin), and Group IV had diabetic rats treated orally with standardized dried Amla powder. This was done to determine whether it was the tannins, or the Amla fruit as a whole that produced an effect. All other baseline conditions were equivalent (diet, temperature, water) and standard procedures and protocols were used to conduct the experiment. Results indicated that treatment with Amla or the tannins unfortunately did not reduce the blood glucose levels or increase blood insulin levels. Despite that, however, the progression of diabetic cataract in Groups III and IV were significantly reduced when compared to Group II. Excitingly, when treated with the whole Amla extract (Group IV rats) the onset of cataract itself was significantly delayed! 

Time heals all wounds. If it doesn't, don't worry. Amla will. 

Photographic evidence of wound healing
properties of Amla. If applied on wounds,
Amla stimulated rapid wound closure (figures
on right) when compared to control mice (figures
on left)
Figure source: Sumitra et al. (2009)

Sumitra et al. (2009), through an equally thorough experiment, provided extensive evidence on the wound-healing properties of Amla extract, this time via topical application of Amla on randomly grouped surgically wounded mice. One group of mice acted as a placebo-control (Group A), while Amla extract was applied on the other (Group B). The authors measured several variables (example, glutathione and superoxide dismutase levels) to demonstrate Amla’s superior antioxdative ability to significantly reduce significantly reduce the oxidative stress generated by the wound. More importantly, topical application of Amla stimulated collagen synthesis, thereby promoting faster wound contraction and repair. Once again, another very favorable property of Amla was discovered. Further research can investigate whether the wound healing properties of Amla can be attributed to isolated active components or is a result of the combination of all the constituents of Amla. 

Drawbacks and future experiments:

The drawback of both experiments was that the researchers were not blinded to treatment/control groups. Also, the duration of the experiments was short ranging from 2-8 weeks. For Suranayana et al.’s study, a longer experiment may have demonstrated a much-appreciated reduction of blood glucose levels. For both studies, a longer time span may have unraveled the potential adverse effects, or lack thereof, of Amla ingestion or topical application. Nevertheless, both experiments depicted additional promising uses of Amla, ones that encourage further probing into.

Too good to be true? Potential adverse effects/cautions and drug-herb interactions

Structures of some flavanoids and their potential toxicities.
Figure source: Galati et al. (2004)

Thus far, no adverse effects of raw Amla consumption or consumption of products with Amla as an ingredient have been reported. Even cross drug-herb interactions have not yet been identified. As mentioned earlier, this may be so because experiments investigating Amla are not long enough to establish any side effects. Another explanation could be that it is always administered in moderate doses; the effect of high doses is unknown.

I had to dig a little deeper to discover potential adverse effects of a family of compounds present in Amla. It has been suggested that flavanoids, depending on their structure (for example with or without a hydroxyl group) may induce or inhibit activity of cytochromes, enzymes that are responsible for metabolizing xenobiotics (drugs). In turn, this influences the pharmacokinetics of drugs, either by increasing their presence in the cell, making it toxic, or by increasing the drugs' absence, thereby reducing their therapeutic benefits. A warning has been issued to investigate flavanoid content in herbal and food supplements particularly with use of other drugs. Flavanoids have also been associated with liver failure and anemia (Galati et al., 2004). Please see attached figure for more risks.