Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37296402›Full record

SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2023

Clinical effects of Emblica officinalis fruit consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Paul D S Brown, Nicole Ketter, Mathew Vis-Dunbar, Brodie M Sakakibara

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. The Constituents ofScientifica · 2025
    Article
  3. Effect ofCurrent therapeutic research, clinical and experimental · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Paul D S BrownSouthern Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1088 Discovery Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
Nicole KetterDepartment of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 3187 University Way, ASC 413, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
Mathew Vis-DunbarSouthern Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1088 Discovery Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
Brodie M SakakibaraSouthern Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, 1088 Discovery Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada. brodie.sakakibara@ubc.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmblica officinalis (EO) fruit consumption has been found to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease (CVD) physiological risk factors in preliminary clinical intervention trials; however, questions remain regarding the overall effectiveness of EO on CVD risk. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to: 1) systematically describe the clinical research examining EO; and 2) quantitatively assess the effects of EO on CVD physiological risk factors.

methodsThe Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar electronic platforms were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until April 7, 2021. Studies were included if they involved adults (age ≥ 18 years) ingesting a form of EO fruit; included blood lipids, blood pressure, and/or inflammatory biomarkers as outcomes; had clearly defined intervention and control treatments with pre- and post-intervention data; were peer-reviewed; and were written in English. Studies were excluded if they compared EO with another risk reduction intervention without a usual care control group. RCTs were assessed for methodological quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias version 2 (ROB2) tool, qualitatively described, and quantitatively evaluated using random and fixed effect meta-analysis models.

resultsA total of nine RCTs (n = 535 participants) were included for review. Included studies followed parallel-group (n = 6) and crossover (n = 3) designs, with EO dosage ranging from 500 mg/day to 1500 mg/day, and treatment duration ranging from 14 to 84 days. Meta-analyses revealed EO to have a significant composite effect at lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; Mean difference (MD) = -15.08 mg/dL [95% Confidence interval (CI) = -25.43 to -4.73], I

conclusionsDue to statistical and clinical heterogeneity in the limited number of clinical trials to date, the promising effects of EO on physiologic CVD risk factors in this review should be interpreted with caution. Further research is needed to determine if EO offers an efficacious option for primary or secondary prevention of CVD as either monotherapy or adjunct to evidence-based dietary patterns and/or standard pharmacotherapy.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesPhyllanthus emblicaAdolescentAdultCholesterolCholesterol, LDLFruitHumansCholesterolCholesterol, LDLAmlaAtherosclerosisCardiovascular diseaseCholesterolChronic diseaseEmblica officinalisInflammationLipidsMeta-analysisPhyllanthus emblica

Identifiers

PMID37296402
PMCPMC10251691

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.