Can Garcinia cambogia be used to treat cancer?

    Written by:
    Megan Michaux

    Fact-checked

    by:

    Giulia Guerrini, Conni Covington
    Last Updated: April 30, 2025

    There are some studies that suggest that Garcinia cambogia might be able to kill certain types of cancer cells, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer cells. There are several proposed mechanisms, including antioxidant properties and increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells.[1][2] However, the majority of these are in vitro studies or in vivo studies in rats. There are no human clinical trials to confirm these findings, and more research is needed.[3]