Commiphora wightii (public domain image)
Guggul Summary
- Commiphora wightii = C. mukul (guggul) is critically endangered per the IUCN Red List (Ved 2010)
- Guggul is listed as rare, threatened, or endangered by the government of India (Samantary, et al. 2010)
- Guggul grows in a very arid environment and is threatened by over/malexploitation, habitat loss, and climate change.
- There has been success at cultivating guggul, but there is as yet no readily-available supply from cultivated sources.
- Guggul should not be used unless it can be obtained from a verified sustainable, preferably cultivated source.
- There are plenty of sustainable alternatives to guggul, most obviously Allium sativum (garlic) as an alternative for cardiovascular health and lipid lowering effects.
Gum Guggul: Malexploited Ancient Medicine
Commiphora wightii (by some called Commiphora mukul, by some considered a separate species, here treated as synonymous) is native primarily to the arid northwestern regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat in India, and Baluchistan and Sind in southern Pakistan. It is also found in central and eastern India, and does not appear to be heavily harvested in those areas. Guggul has been so heavily exploited in northern India that wild stocks have dramatically declined, and much of the harvesting industry has moved to Pakistan (Atal, et al. 1975; Ved and Goraya 2008; Cunningham, et al. 2018). The problem is so severe that the government of Rajasthan has banned all harvest of guggul (Samanta and Mandal 2014). As the table below shows, the harvest in Gujarat from 2008 to 2013 declined dramatically, and this was during a time of increased market demand, so these numbers clearly reflect the decimation of the wild populations of this plant.
The major threat to guggul is improper and excessive harvesting. Overall tapping of the resin is simply too high for the species to bear, but more important is the rise of destructive harvesting methods and use of the plant growth stimulating agent ethephon to force more resin production (Cunningham, et al. 2018). While ethephon increases gum resin yield, it exhausts and kills the trees (Soni 2010). Overharvesting and decimation of wild stocks has been in full swing since the 1960s. This has accelerated with the rise of use of steam distillation to extract the resin, which means that now entire branches are simply chopped off, causing even more rapid decline of the species (Kulloli and Kumar 2013; Cunningham, et al. 2018). Now there is also evidence that destructive harvesting opens the trees up to lethal infection with the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv commiphorae (Samanta and Mandal 2013 and 2014).
It is important to acknowledge that the harvest and sale of guggul is a major part of the economy in northern India and southern Pakistan, and there may be few other viable sources of income for people in these areas. Nevertheless, as is so often the case, purchasing guggul from an unknown source means that the resin harvesters receive a pittance for their labor. Only purchases that cut out middle men (and they are mostly men) and work directly with local communities supporting sustainable harvest and/or cultivation are going to provide these people with a living wage and a resource that can endure for all future generations. Efforts to preserve wild guggul populations and to bring it into cultivation are under way in various parts of India and Pakistan (Soni 2010; Ahmed, et al. 2013a and b). Unfortunately, there are no known sources for purchase of guggul from sustainable, community-based sources in North America.
Other contributors to the rapid and severe decline of guggul trees are competition from introduced invasive species (such as Prosopis juliflora from North America), very poor germination of seeds, ecosystem fragmentation with resulting loss of genetic diversity and cross-pollination, termite infestation (related to climate change), and overgrazing by domestic animals (Jain and Nadgauda 2013; Kulhari, et al. 2012).
The major threat to guggul is improper and excessive harvesting. Overall tapping of the resin is simply too high for the species to bear, but more important is the rise of destructive harvesting methods and use of the plant growth stimulating agent ethephon to force more resin production (Cunningham, et al. 2018). While ethephon increases gum resin yield, it exhausts and kills the trees (Soni 2010). Overharvesting and decimation of wild stocks has been in full swing since the 1960s. This has accelerated with the rise of use of steam distillation to extract the resin, which means that now entire branches are simply chopped off, causing even more rapid decline of the species (Kulloli and Kumar 2013; Cunningham, et al. 2018). Now there is also evidence that destructive harvesting opens the trees up to lethal infection with the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv commiphorae (Samanta and Mandal 2013 and 2014).
It is important to acknowledge that the harvest and sale of guggul is a major part of the economy in northern India and southern Pakistan, and there may be few other viable sources of income for people in these areas. Nevertheless, as is so often the case, purchasing guggul from an unknown source means that the resin harvesters receive a pittance for their labor. Only purchases that cut out middle men (and they are mostly men) and work directly with local communities supporting sustainable harvest and/or cultivation are going to provide these people with a living wage and a resource that can endure for all future generations. Efforts to preserve wild guggul populations and to bring it into cultivation are under way in various parts of India and Pakistan (Soni 2010; Ahmed, et al. 2013a and b). Unfortunately, there are no known sources for purchase of guggul from sustainable, community-based sources in North America.
Other contributors to the rapid and severe decline of guggul trees are competition from introduced invasive species (such as Prosopis juliflora from North America), very poor germination of seeds, ecosystem fragmentation with resulting loss of genetic diversity and cross-pollination, termite infestation (related to climate change), and overgrazing by domestic animals (Jain and Nadgauda 2013; Kulhari, et al. 2012).
Decline of Guggul Harvest in Gujarat (Yogi, et al. 2014)
Agricultural Year (April-March) |
Tons harvested |
1962–1963 |
30 |
2008–2009 |
9.9 |
2009–2010 |
6.4 |
2010–2011 |
2.9 |
2011–2012 |
3.3 |
2012–2013 |
1.6 |
References
Ahmed A, Arif T, Amanullah M, et al. (2013a) "In-situ conservation of Commiphora wightii: An endangered medicinal shrub through integrated participatory approach in the Nagarparkar Hills of Tharparkar, Pakistan" Universal J Agric Res 1(3):103–9.
Ahmed A, Arif T, Murtaza G, et al. (2013b) "Combating desertification effects by participatory action and In-situ conservation of Commiphora wightii: An endangered medicinal shrub in Nagarparkar hills of Tharparkar, Pakistan" Adv Environ Biol 7(13):4039–45.
Atal C, Gupta O, Afaq S (1975) "Commiphora mukul: Source of guggal in Indian systems of medicine" Econ Bot 29(3):209–18.
Cunningham AB, Brinckmann JA, Kulloli RN, Schippmann U (2018) "Rising trade, declining stocks: The global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade" J Ethnopharmacol 223:22–32.
Dixit A, Rao S (2000) "Observation on distribution and habitat characteristics of gugal (Commiphora wightii) in the arid region of Kachchh, Gujarat, India" Trop Ecol 41(1):81–88.
Jain N, Nadgauda RS (2013) "Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari—A natural source of guggulsterone: facing a high risk of extinction in its natural habitat" Am J Plant Sci 4:57–68.
Kulhari A, Sheorayan A, Kalia S, et al. (2012) “Problems, progress and future prospects of improvement of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, an endangered herbal magic, through modern biotechnological tools: A review” Genet Resources Crop Evol 59(6):1223–54.
Kulloli R, Kumar S (2013) "Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari: A threatened plant of conservation concern" J Med Plants Res 7(28):2043–2052.
Samanta JN, Mandal K (2013) "In planta detection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv commiphorae using fyuA and rpoD genes" Indian J Exp Biol 51(6):470–6.
Samanta J, Mandal K (2014) "Scientific analysis of indigenous techniques for guggal (Commiphora wightii) tapping in India" J For Res 25(3):695–700.
Samantaray S, Bishoyi AK, Geetha KA, Maiti S (2010) "Assessment of genetic diversity using RAPD and ISSR markers in guggal (Commiphora wightii)" Open Access J Med Aromatic Plants 1(2):TS2-P33 [abstract].
Soni V (2010) "Conservation of Commiphora wightii an endangered medicinal shrub, through propagation planting, and education awareness program in the Aravali Hills of Rajasthan, India" Conserv Evid 7:27–31.
Soni V, Swarnkar PL (2006) "Commiphora wightii. An important medicinal plant species" Med Plant Conserv 12:40–42.
Ved D, Goraya G (2008) Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants in India (Dehra Dun: Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh).
Ved D, Saha D, Ravikumar K, Haridasan K (2015) Commiphora wightii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T31231A50131117.
Yogi R, Bhattacharya A, Jaiswal A (2014) Lac, Plant Resins and Gums Statistics at a Glance 2013. Technical Bulletin Number 6/2014. (Namkum, Ranchi: ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums).
Ahmed A, Arif T, Murtaza G, et al. (2013b) "Combating desertification effects by participatory action and In-situ conservation of Commiphora wightii: An endangered medicinal shrub in Nagarparkar hills of Tharparkar, Pakistan" Adv Environ Biol 7(13):4039–45.
Atal C, Gupta O, Afaq S (1975) "Commiphora mukul: Source of guggal in Indian systems of medicine" Econ Bot 29(3):209–18.
Cunningham AB, Brinckmann JA, Kulloli RN, Schippmann U (2018) "Rising trade, declining stocks: The global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade" J Ethnopharmacol 223:22–32.
Dixit A, Rao S (2000) "Observation on distribution and habitat characteristics of gugal (Commiphora wightii) in the arid region of Kachchh, Gujarat, India" Trop Ecol 41(1):81–88.
Jain N, Nadgauda RS (2013) "Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari—A natural source of guggulsterone: facing a high risk of extinction in its natural habitat" Am J Plant Sci 4:57–68.
Kulhari A, Sheorayan A, Kalia S, et al. (2012) “Problems, progress and future prospects of improvement of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, an endangered herbal magic, through modern biotechnological tools: A review” Genet Resources Crop Evol 59(6):1223–54.
Kulloli R, Kumar S (2013) "Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari: A threatened plant of conservation concern" J Med Plants Res 7(28):2043–2052.
Samanta JN, Mandal K (2013) "In planta detection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv commiphorae using fyuA and rpoD genes" Indian J Exp Biol 51(6):470–6.
Samanta J, Mandal K (2014) "Scientific analysis of indigenous techniques for guggal (Commiphora wightii) tapping in India" J For Res 25(3):695–700.
Samantaray S, Bishoyi AK, Geetha KA, Maiti S (2010) "Assessment of genetic diversity using RAPD and ISSR markers in guggal (Commiphora wightii)" Open Access J Med Aromatic Plants 1(2):TS2-P33 [abstract].
Soni V (2010) "Conservation of Commiphora wightii an endangered medicinal shrub, through propagation planting, and education awareness program in the Aravali Hills of Rajasthan, India" Conserv Evid 7:27–31.
Soni V, Swarnkar PL (2006) "Commiphora wightii. An important medicinal plant species" Med Plant Conserv 12:40–42.
Ved D, Goraya G (2008) Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants in India (Dehra Dun: Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh).
Ved D, Saha D, Ravikumar K, Haridasan K (2015) Commiphora wightii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T31231A50131117.
Yogi R, Bhattacharya A, Jaiswal A (2014) Lac, Plant Resins and Gums Statistics at a Glance 2013. Technical Bulletin Number 6/2014. (Namkum, Ranchi: ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums).