Coccinia Indica (ivy gourd) Overview

Coccinia indica or ivy gourd, is a plant that grows wild in many places in India. In Ayurveda, a traditional form of medicine native to India that used herbs as medicine, coccinia indica has been used for thousands of years to treat diabetes.⁵

Check out the specific article for type 2 diabetes and coccinia indica.

Coccinia indica is said to have insulin-mimetic properties, meaning that the herb acts similarly to insulin in the body. Naturally, this is particularly useful for diabetes patients.

The leaves of the plant cocinia indicia have been shown to lower fasting glucose levels¹ in magnitudes comparable to that of hypoglycemic agent drugs.³ Additionally, there are very few, if any side effects when using this herb.

Many studies published in the British Medical Journal ¹, the Indian Journal of Medical Science ², the Journal of Research in Ayurveda & Siddha ³, Diabetes Care4 and more are citing the beneficial effects of coccinia indica in the treatent of type 2 diabetes.

1. Journal 1980 April 12; 280(6220): 1044. PMCID: PMC1600653

2. Kamble SM, Kamlakar PL, Vaidya S, Bambole VD. Influence of Coccinia indica on certain enzymes in glycolytic and lipolytic pathway in human diabetes. Indian J Med Sci 52:143–146, 1998
3. Kamble SM, Jyotishi GS, Kamlakar PL, Vaidya SM: Efficacy of Coccinia indica W.& A in diabetes mellitus. J Res Ayurveda Siddha. XVII:77–84, 1996

4. Gloria Y. Yeh, MD, David M. Eisenberg, Ted J. Kaptchuk, and Russell S. Phillips. Systematic Review of Herbs and Dietary Supplements for Glycemic Control in Diabetes. Diabetes Care April 2003 vol. 26 no. 4 1277-1294. doi: 10.2337/diacare.26.4.1277

5. Gloria Y. Yeh, MD, David M. Eisenberg, Ted J. Kaptchuk, and Russell S. Phillips. Systematic Review of Herbs and Dietary Supplements for Glycemic Control in Diabetes. Diabetes Care April 2003 vol. 26 no. 4 1277-1294. doi: 10.2337/diacare.26.4.1277