“Pirandai: A garden of Tulsi Plants sacred to Vishnu.” – The Madras Journal of Literature and Science, 1879.
“To increase one’s life span Pirandai sadham is offered as naivedhya and distributed to the devotees.” – From a thread on Shri Agastheeswara swamy temple in Poonthottam, from the website tamilbrahmins.com
“Yama the God of death and the deity of Sadhya Star worshipped Lord Shiva… Yama brought the sacred plant Pirandai belonging to the creeper category to earth. He offered rice nivedhana prepared with this pirandai to Lord. This is followed now by devotees for relief from diseases and for longevity. They also offer Pirandai Rice nivedhana placed on a lotus leaf to Lord and eat it for cure from diseases. We feel blessed.” – http://jaisspritualonlinejourney.blogspot.com
“The sick offer Pirandai rice on the lotus leaf for cure.” – Guide to Sri Sakalabhuvaneswarar-Mekalambika temple
Overview
Cissus quadrangularis, also known as Devil’s Backbone, Veldt Grape, in Tamil as Pirandai and in Hindi as Hadjod, is a member of the grape family probably native to the Indian subcontinent, where it grows wild. Used for centuries to heal bone fractures and counteract osteoporosis, it may support healthy blood sugar levels.
What are the known benefits?
You’re on your own with this one. Western-style documentation is lacking, but there is a long tradition in Ayurvedic medicine. The few published studies that attest to CQ’s safety and effectiveness can be dismissed out of hand because the authors failed to disclose they had a financial interest in the formulation that was tested. This article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology in October 2010, on conflicts of interest in alternative weight loss product research, included in its footnotes several studies finding CQ safe and effective for weight loss. It turns out that these studies used CQ provided by General Health Alliances, an herbal products manufacturer. The studies also failed to mention that one of the authors was a chief scientific officer for GHA that holds a patent on a CQ product. That product appears to no longer be on the market.
Tim Ferriss, in his book The 4-Hour Body, devotes an entire page to C. quadrangularis. To his credit, he does not bother to cite dodgy “scholarly” articles and instead describes his own experience with CQ. He notes the lack of long-term studies in humans and says that as a result, he will avoid continuous use. He said CQ worked for him in conjunction with another protocol he was following.
Any other potential benefits?
CQ has long been used to help bones heal from fractures. This study supports the use of CQ to combat osteoporosis and links to many other studies confirming CQ’s use in strengthening bones.
However, the genus Cissus contains other species that have been studied more extensively. See our page on Insulina, aka Cissus sicyoides.
What is the scientific mechanism at play?
There is not enough peer-reviewed information to determine how or even if if C. quadrangularis affects blood glucose or weight.
Conclusion
There is much anecdotal information about CQ. However, as with many brands of supplements, you cannot be sure what is in your supplement bottle. Read reviews and click here to learn more about what is for sale.
References
Disclaimer
http://www.ijppsjournal.com/Vol3Suppl4/2439.pdf
the above is a good overview of how it’s used.
http://nutrawiki.org/cissus_quadrangularis/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570348/ dodgy
http://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-511X-6-4 dodgy
http://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-511X-7-12 dodgy
http://cissus.org/cissus-product-was-cited-by-fda/
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jos/2012/101206/