# Garcinia indica
**Garcinia indica** (Thouars) Choisy, commonly known as kokum, is a slender evergreen fruit tree of the family [Clusiaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/clusiaceae), endemic to the Western Ghats of India, whose dried fruit rind is used as a souring agent in coastal Indian cooking and whose seeds yield an edible fat called kokum butter. The basionym is *Brindonia indica* Thouars (1806); the current combination was published by Choisy in 1823[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=547469&mode=Info). Other recorded common names include Goa butter, wild mangosteen, black kokum, and, in regional languages, Amsul, Bhinda, Bhiran, Katambi, Kokambi, and Ratamba[2](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf) • [3](https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?cat=13&id=5213).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Garcinia indica* (Thouars) Choisy, 1823; basionym *Brindonia indica* Thouars, 1806; family Clusiaceae[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=547469&mode=Info) |
| Native range | Western and southwestern India; endemic to the Western Ghats, a seasonally dry tropical biome[4](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A428006-1/general-information) • [2](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf) |
| Habit | Evergreen tree 10 to 20 m tall with drooping branches, red young leaves, and globose purple fruit about 3 cm across[2](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf) • [3](https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?cat=13&id=5213) |
| Conservation status | IUCN Red List: vulnerable (VU), assessed in 2014; a 2024 model-based prediction classifies it as not threatened, with low confidence[4](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A428006-1/general-information) |
| Principal acid | (−)-Hydroxycitric acid, the principal acid of the fruit rinds of *G. indica*, *G. cambogia*, and *G. atroviridis*[5](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf010753k) |
| Rind composition | Per 100 g: moisture 80.0 g, protein 1 g, tannin 1.7 g, pectin 0.9 g, total sugars 4.1 g, fat 1.4 g[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996911000871) |
| Main products | Dried rind (amsul) as a souring agent, kokum syrup and drinks, kokum butter from seeds used in Goa as a ghee substitute[7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica) • [8](https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IndHort/article/view/166983) |
## Description and distribution
Kokum is a slow-growing, sturdy evergreen tree 10 to 20 m tall with drooping branches and yellow latex. The leaves are ovate-oblong to elliptic-lanceolate, 8 to 11 cm long and 5 to 6 cm wide, red when young; the bark is gray-brown and exudes an orange-yellow resin when cut. The fruit is globose, smooth, and purple, about 3 cm across, and flowering and fruiting extend from November to August[2](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf) • [3](https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?cat=13&id=5213).
The species is native to, and endemic in, India, with its range in the [Western Ghats](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-ghats) covering the Konkan coastal region and hilly areas, and recorded populations in [Karnataka](https://www.edgepedia.org/karnataka), Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, and [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu)[2](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf) • [3](https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?cat=13&id=5213) • [9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996911000871). Trees grow along riversides, in forests, and on wastelands, and have more recently been cultivated for their fruit; propagation is usually by sowing seeds in bags or pots and transplanting the seedlings, and the tree needs no elaborate irrigation or use of fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996911000871).
## Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessment of 2014 places *G. indica* in the category vulnerable (VU)[4](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A428006-1/general-information). [Habitat destruction](https://www.edgepedia.org/habitat-destruction) and lack of public awareness have been cited as pressures on some *Garcinia* species, most of which are still collected from the wild or from home gardens rather than grown in commercial plantations[7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica). By contrast, the 2024 Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions project classifies the species as not threatened, with low confidence, so the two assessments differ[4](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A428006-1/general-information). In India, the Western Ghats Kokum Foundation promotes cultivation and works on conservation of the species[10](https://jntbgri.res.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chapter-9.pdf).
## Culinary and traditional uses
On the Malabar and Konkan coasts, the dried rind of *G. indica* and *G. cambogia* is used as a substitute for tamarind to give a sour taste, particularly in fish curry and other traditional dishes[11](https://www.fao.org/4/x1022e/x1022e04.htm) • [12](https://www.spices.res.in/crops/garcinia). The rind is also eaten raw as an appetizer in parts of India, and combined with salt and organic acids it lowers pH enough to give a bacteriostatic effect for curing fish, a method known as Colombo Curing[7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica). Fermented beverages made from *Garcinia* fruits are popular in southern India, and products such as kokum syrup, agal, amsul, butter, and tea are staples of regional cuisine[7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica) • [8](https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IndHort/article/view/166983).
In Goa, the fat obtained from the seed, known as kokum butter, is used as a substitute for ghee[7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica). In Ayurvedic texts the genus was referred to as Vrikshamla, and preparations have been used for rheumatic pains, bowel complaints, ulcers, inflammation, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, and dysentery; the fruit rind decoction is also used in traditional veterinary medicine for mouth ulcers[11](https://www.fao.org/4/x1022e/x1022e04.htm) • [7](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica).
## Phytochemistry and pharmacology
The principal acid of the rind is (−)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA), a structural analog of citric acid[5](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf010753k) • [11](https://www.fao.org/4/x1022e/x1022e04.htm). Other bioactive constituents isolated from *G. indica* include garcinol, a polyisoprenylated benzophenone, and the anthocyanins cyanidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-glucoside[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8708457/). Reviews report antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antidepressant, and anxiolytic effects in vitro and in vivo; garcinol, for example, inhibits cyclooxygenase-2, 5-lipoxygenase, and inducible nitric oxide synthase, and acts as a histone acetyltransferase inhibitor[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8708457/).
These findings come mostly from laboratory and animal studies. Reviews state that further clinical research is needed to establish the efficacy and safety of *G. indica* in humans[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8708457/). On safety, an earlier review of 17 clinical studies with about 873 subjects found a no-observed-adverse-effect level for HCA up to 2,800 mg per day[14](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3424601/), but the Spanish food safety agency AESAN has more recently raised concerns about hepatotoxicity from garcinia food supplements, and liver injury cases have been reported for *G. gummi-gutta* (G. cambogia) and HCA; no direct association between *G. indica* and acute liver injury has been reported, though the species also contains HCA[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8708457/).
## Cultivation and market
Kokum is grown in homesteads and mixed cropping systems in [Maharashtra](https://www.edgepedia.org/maharashtra), Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala, and until recently there had been no systematic efforts to promote its cultivation through these coastal regions[8](https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IndHort/article/view/166983) • [15](https://www.ofai.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Resource-book-on-Kokum.pdf). The crop provides additional income to farmers, and demand in domestic and export markets is growing because of its culinary and medicinal uses[12](https://www.spices.res.in/crops/garcinia). Reviews describe kokum as an underutilized fruit spice with potential as a functional food, while noting constraints in postharvest handling and value chains[8](https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IndHort/article/view/166983).
## References
1. [Garcinia indica, NCBI Taxonomy Browser](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=547469&mode=Info)
2. [Garcinia indica, endemic plant species profile, NGCPR](https://ngcpr.org/link-files/Endemic%20plant%20species%20pdf/Garcinia%20indica.pdf)
3. [Garcinia indica, India Flora Online, Herbarium JCB, IISc](https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/herbsheet.php?cat=13&id=5213)
4. [Garcinia indica (Thouars) Choisy, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A428006-1/general-information)
5. [Chemistry and Biochemistry of (−)-Hydroxycitric Acid from Garcinia, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf010753k)
6. [The chemistry and medicinal uses of the underutilized Indian fruit tree Garcinia indica Choisy (kokum): A review, Food Research International](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996911000871)
7. [Kokum gurgi (Garcinia indica), ScienceDirect Topics overview](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/garcinia-indica)
8. [Kokum: The purple pulse of the Konkan, Indian Horticulture 70(5), 2025](https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IndHort/article/view/166983)
9. [Pharmacological Activity of Garcinia indica (Kokum): An Updated Review, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8708457/)
10. [Diversity of Garcinia species in the Western Ghats: Phytochemical Perspective, JNTBGRI](https://jntbgri.res.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chapter-9.pdf)
11. [Garcinia, Non-Wood News No. 6, FAO](https://www.fao.org/4/x1022e/x1022e04.htm)
12. [Garcinia (G. cambogia / G. indica), Indian Institute of Spices Research](https://www.spices.res.in/crops/garcinia)
13. [In Vitro and In Vivo Toxicity of Garcinia or Hydroxycitric Acid: A Review, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3424601/)
14. [Resource book on Kokum (Garcinia indica Choisy), OFAI](https://www.ofai.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Resource-book-on-Kokum.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Rosids › Malpighiales, Myrtales, and Brassicales › Malpighiales*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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