Cissus Quadrangularis Extract
Cissus Quadrangularis is a succulent vine found in many places around Africa and South East Asia. It’s native to Sri Lanka and India, but has been imported to Brazil and the Southern United States over the years.
It is one of the most popular medicinal plants in Thailand and is part of traditional African medicine. Cissus Quadrangularis is also sometimes referred to as Veldt Grape or Devil’s Backbone.
What Are Its Uses?
Cissus vine, ground into a powder and consumed, has previously been used to speed up the healing of broken bones as well as the repair process of injured ligaments and tendons. Because of its positive effect on bones and joints, Cissus is now being used in some body building supplements.
While using Cissus powder as a pre-workout supplement, your muscle tissue will be better preserved during your routine through the anabolic and the antiglucocorticoid effects that it possesses. Simply put, this means that you will gain lean muscle faster than you normally would. [2]
Plus, not only does this supplement expediate healing and muscle growth, but it also considerably enhances weight loss in users with or without dietary adjustments in some recent studies. [2]
A final traditional use of Cissus is in the treatment of feminine disorders. The supplement has shown some success in treating and alleviating conditions brought on by menopause as well as treating libido and menstrual disorders. [4]
Cissus Benefits
As a Pre-workout Supplement
Using Cissus Quadrangularis as pre-workout supplement will help you get into your desired shape much faster than you would be able to otherwise. Adding Cissus powder to your already healthy workout and dietary routine will boost your muscle gain through the increased healing speed of deep muscle tissue and enhance your performance as well.
Plus, as it keeps your muscles preserved and rested, Cissus Quadrangularis benefits users by significantly reducing rest times between sets.
Of course, the most useful aspect of Cissus is its mending properties. Often over the course of intense training it’s common to strain or damage your body which can significantly hamper your progress.
If you can’t work out, then your muscle growth will stagnate or reverse, so a speedy recovery is key. However, prevention is even more important and that’s where the real effectiveness of Cissus lies.
Cissus Quadrangularis for Weight Loss
Even if you’re not planning on using Cissus to enhance your workout or recover from an injury, it’s still proven to be effective as a weight loss supplement. Experimental studies show that people who took 150 mg of Cissus powder twice per day for 10 weeks on average showed a mean weight loss of 8.7kg in people with initial weight of 99kg.
A fat burning experiment that combined Cissus with other weight loss supplements, such as green tea and chromium showed an incredibly impressive result of an 187% increase in weight loss compared to those receiving a placebo. It is thus speculated that Cissus acts as a fat blocker and appetite suppressor
Besides of this huge weight reduction, cholesterol levels and percentage body fat also decrease. Some studies showed that Cissus can lower blood sugar as well. However, it should be noted that more testing is needed to verify some of these results. [2]
Dosage Info
Depending on the desired results, there are a number of suggested dosages of this supplement. As a general dietary supplement it is suggested that individuals should take 500-1000 mg with meals. This should equal out to about 2000-2500 mg per day. This is a good way to determine whether or not you’re seeing any desired effects in terms of weight loss.
For quicker results, there is also a more intensive method that involves a “loading phase” of 2-3 weeks. In this method you are instructed to take 1500 mg, 3 times per day with your meals, followed by a maintenance phase of 1500mg with your morning meal and 1000 mg with the last meal of the day. [3]
While there are no specific instructions on using this supplement as a pre-workout booster, it should be noted that it becomes active within 30 minutes of consumption. With that in mind, it is probably best to take a pre-workout rather than immediately before you begin training. [4]