Gurmar, Gymnema
Gymnema sylvestre

Family: Apocynaceae

What it is like

Gurmar or Gymnema sylvestre is a climbing plant of up to 3 m long with stems that scrambles over the ground and climb into the surrounding vegetation, and can be found in Africa, Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has a woody rootstock and slender stems. The oval or sword shaped leaves are edible either raw or cooked as a vegetable. It has the ability to make bitter food taste sweet. The fruits are usually roasted. German is a well-known herb in Ayurveda medicine and used to reduce sugar levels in blood and urine. The leaves are used against cough and fever and aids in weight loss. The roots are used as antidote to snakebite and as treatment foe epilepsy. Other common names include gymnema, complaint, Australian cowplant, gurmarbooti, periploca of the woods, meshasringa, Bedki cha pala, and miracle fruit.

Gymnema sylvestre is an evergreen Climber growing to 3 m (9ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 3

Where it is found

Secondary forest, riverine forest and dry shrub savannah, usually on sandy or loamy soils. It occurs scattered and is locally abundant and common.

Africa - Mauritania to Ethiopia, south to S. Africa; through Arabia to India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Botswana, Central Africa, China, Congo, East Africa, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands),

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Leaves - raw or cooked. Eaten as a vegetable or added to soups. The leaves, for a short while after being eaten, have the ability to make even bitter foods taste sweet. In India and China the bitter leaves are known as 'sugar destroyer', as the taste for sweetness is blocked for some time. Fruit - cooked. It is roasted then peeled and eaten, after discarding the seeds. The taste is similar to that of potatoes.

Medicine

Rating: 4

Gurmar is an important, bitter-tasting Ayurvedic herb that is used especially to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics. Both roots and leaves can be used. The plant contains a group of oleanane type triterpenoid saponins known as gymnemic acids, a complex mixture of at least 9 closely related acidic glycosides, which have taste-modifying activity; and gurmarin, which is a sweet taste-suppressing polypeptide. When the leaf is chewed, the ability to taste sweetness is lost temporarily. Studies have demonstrated that the leaf powder may exert an antidiabetic effect via a number of pathways, including decreasing the uptake of glucose from the small intestine; improvements in glycogen synthesis, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and hepatic and muscle glucose uptake; as well as the reversal of haemoglobin and plasma protein glycosylation. The plant is antidote, astringent, diuretic, emetic, hypoglycaemic, purgative, refrigerant, stomachic and tonic. It is used particularly to reduce sugar levels in the blood and urine. The leaves are used in the treatment of fevers and coughs. The powdered leaf is considered to help curb cravings for sweets and to have lipid lowering effects, it is added to food additives as a weight loss remedy. The powder also helps in preventing caries. Applied externally the leaves are combined with castor oil and used as a poultice to treat swollen glands. The roots are considered to be a useful antidote to snakebite - they are applied to the wound as a powder, made into a paste with water or given internally as a decoction. The pounded and cooked roots are added to food and eaten as a treatment for epilepsy. The pounded cooked root or root powder is applied externally to treat boils.

Antidote: Counters poisoning.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Emetic: Induces vomiting.

Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Hypoglycaemic: Reduces the levels of sugar in the blood.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.

Refrigerant: Cools the body.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 0

Other Uses: None known

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Gymnema sylvestre thrives in subtropical and tropical climates. The plant grows best in areas with a well-distributed rainfall of 600 - 1,000mm annually.

Propagating it: Seed - it has a short period of viability and so should be sown as soon as it is ripe.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Climber

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Gurmar, Gymnema, Gurmari, Periploca of the Woods, Adigam, Buko-bipilate, Chi geng teng, Kavali, Podapatri, Sirukuranjan, ajaglandini, ajashrajgi, ajasrngi, ajas??gi, ajas??gi, bedaki, bedakuli, cakkaraikkolli, cakkarakkolli, chi geng teng, ci?uku?iñca? ver (root), dhulcti, dun tiàng, gadalshingi, gudmaar, gudmar, gurmar, gurmar buti, gymnema, kaavalee, kadhasige, madhunaashini, madhunasini, madhunasini, mard shingi, med phale, medhaa singee, medhaashingi, medhaasingee, medhasinge, medhasingi, merasingi, mesarngi, meshashiringi, meshashringi, me?as??gi (leaf), me?as??gi (root), miracle-fruit, periploca of the wood, periploca of the woods, podapatri, podapatro, potla podra, ram's-horn, shakkaraikkolli, shirukurinja, shirukurum kaay, shirukurumkaay, sirukurinjan, small indian ipecacuanha.

Synonyms

Ascletias geminata Roxb. Periploca sylvestris Retz. Cynanchum subvolubile Schumach. & Thonn. Gymnema