Caigua fruit health benefit by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Does it reduce cholesterol or help you shed pounds?

Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) is a curved, long fruit native to Peru. Caigua is also called wild cucumber. Caigua is usually eaten as vegetable in salads. Historical uses of caigua include the treatment of high cholesterol, hypertension, and weight loss. If you would like to eat less consider a product called Diet Rx. This natural appetite suppressant works without stimulants. Diet Rx has no added caffeine, ephedra, ephedrine alkaloids, synephrine, hormones, guarana, ginseng, or stimulating amino acids.

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What does the caigua research say?
I could not find any published studies on caigua other than the ones below that discuss the flavonoids found within the caigua plant. Therefore, it is too early to make any recommendations regarding caigua supplements in terms of nutritional medicine use.

Products formulated by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Eyesight Rx -- for better vision, results sometimes seen within hours or days.
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 5-HTP 50 mg - for serotonin support
Acetyl-l-Carnitine 300 mg - mind and memory support, antioxidant
CoQ10 50 mg - for healthy energy metabolism and heart function
 Curcumin the active extract from turmeric, found in curry
 Tribulus Terrestris - one of the common sexual enhancers
Mangosteen - contains powerful xanthones
Graviola - this fruit can be used for relaxation purposes.

Caigua Research Update
Analysis of flavonoids from Cyclanthera pedata fruits by liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry.
J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2004 Feb 4;34(2):295-304.
A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry based method was developed for the characterization of fruits of Cyclanthera pedata Scrabs (Caigua), a Peruvian food and medicinal plant. This method is based on the separation of flavonoid glycosides present in the methanolic extracts from caigua fruits using high performance liquid chromatography followed by detection with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Studies on the constituents of Cyclanthera pedata fruits: isolation and structure elucidation of new flavonoid glycosides and their antioxidant activity.
J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Nov;49(11):5156-60.
The isolation of six flavon glycosides (1-6), among them four new natural compounds (1-4), from the CHCl(3)/MeOH extract of the fruits of caigua is reported.

Studies on the constituents of Cyclanthera pedata ( caigua ) fruits: isolation and structure elucidation of new triterpenoid saponins.
J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Nov;47(11):4512-9.
The isolation of nine triterpenoid saponins (1-9), among them six new natural compounds (1-6), from the MeOH extract of the fruits of caigua is reported.

This caigua page was last updated March 2008.