A randomised placebo controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of Caralluma fimbriata supplement for reducing anxiety and stress in healthy adults over eight weeks

Background: This study investigated the efficacy of a succulent, Caralluma fimbriata extract (CFE) in reducing anxiety and stress in healthy adults. Methods: An 8 week double-blind randomised clinical trial, in which 97 adults self-reporting mild to moderate anxiety were given 500 mg b.d. CFE (n = 49), or 500 mg b.d. placebo (n = 48). Anxiety and stress were measured at baseline, week 4, and week 8 to investigate the timing of treatment effect using the GAD-7, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and salivary cortisol. Data were analysed using mixed ANOVAs on SPSS v.24. Results: Results indicated a significant reduction in anxiety and stress in both groups at week 4 and week 8. The reduction in the CFE group was significantly greater (p  Limitations: Self-reported instruments involve subjective interpretation thus salivary cortisol was employed as a more objective measure. The study would benefit from a larger sample and longer trial, and the inclusion of a wait-list group to allow comparison between treatment and no treatment. Conclusions: The findings indicate that CFE is superior to placebo in reducing subclinical anxiety and stress over 8 weeks.