The bulk of the studies on Cissus have been on the repair of bone & these have shown that bone is healed at a highly accelerated rate.  The science gets a little tricky & much of the reasoning behind what it does is a little speculative, but it gets results, even if the science behind this wonder plant isn’t fully understood.

Cissus and Collagen Production

One of the primary effects of Cissus is thought to be an increase in collagen turnover, so with increased synthesis & replacement you could expect a quicker recovery from overuse injuries, cartilage & tendon repair.

Collagen, a fibrous protein that makes up about 25% of your body, connects the many cells and tissues of your body together, including bone, muscle, tendons, and ligaments. Without collagen your body would literally fall to pieces.

Ligaments link bones to other bones and provide support to joints. They allow a normal range of movement to occur within a joint, but prevent unwanted movement that would render the joint unstable. In order to fulfill this function, ligaments must possess immense mechanical tensile strength.

When a ligament, tendon, or muscle is injured the collagen fibers are damaged and your body works to inflame the area and send collagen to repair the fibers.

Since training tears your body down and can cause injury, collagen is needed for tissue repair. An increased amount of available collagen will quicken the process of recovery, whether you’re recovering from a workout or recovering from an injury. That means less time sidelined with sore or injured muscles!

How does Cissus increase the amount of Collagen?

Cissus quadrangularis, an ancient herb found in India, is said to cause an increase in collagen production and aid the healing of joint ailments (Jainu and Mohan, 2008).

Studies show that Cissus may increase the amount of collagen in animal cells.  Although clinical studies were not done on humans, there have been many testimonials by athletes and bodybuilders claiming Cissus did, in fact, speed up their injury recovery.

“My Achilles Tendon was healing in record time. My doctor told me I wouldn’t be walking on it for another 2 months. Well, in just 3 weeks I was putting pressure on it.” Pete, injured athlete

Cissus and DHEA

Cissus inhibits cortisol from breaking down muscle and bone when our bodies are under stress.  By lowering the levels of cortisol, this allows the body to produce more DHEA and make the DHEA more effective in providing it’s strengthening powers to muscles and bones.

Yes, Cissus is truly an amazing plant with many positive healing powers for our bodies.  With virtually no side effects, this completely natural cissus plant extract is a great alternative to many synthetic supplements.

Resources Used:

• Ligament Damage & Repair
• Investigating Effects of Cissus
• Restorative Agent CISSUS QUADRANGULARIS

Cissus Quadrangularis extract has been shown to be a natural cortisol inhibitor. Athletes and bodybuilder are constantly looking for ways to combat their main nemesis cortisol. First let us take a look at these two things. What is cissus? What is cortisol?

What is Cissus?

Cissus is a plant from the grape family that is grown in India and Southeast Asia. It has been used throughout history for many, many different treatments. Cissus is a completely natural plant with no known side effects. In western society cissus is only recently becoming more popular, especially for weightlifters and athletes. Cissus is mainly marketed for is bone, ligament, and tendon healing powers, but it is also used by bodybuilders due to it’s cortisol blocking powers.

For more information on What is Cissus click here.

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is an important hormone in the body, secreted by the adrenal glands and involved in the following functions and more:

Proper glucose metabolism
Regulation of blood pressure
Insulin release for blood sugar maintenance
Immune function
Inflammatory response

Cortisol has been known as the “stress hormone” because it is secreted as highest levels during times of high stress.  The cortisol balances the stress levels by giving us a quick burst of energy and lowering our sensitivity to pain.  Basically, we naturally produce cortisol for “flight or fight” situations.  Our body is constantly producing cortisol throughout the day.  Our levels are higher in the morning and taper off at night.

While cortisol may seem helpful for our survival it is not what we want as athletes and bodybuilders.  Cortisol has an effect on our muscles and bones as well.   It has a catabolic effect which actually breaks down muscle and bone in order to “protect” our bodies.  Our body must rejuvenate from these levels of cortisol at our muscle and bones expense.

For those trying to maintain weight, cortisol is not your friend as well.  Cortisol secretions as regulate glucose metabolism in the liver.  This increase in glucose levels means more sugars to be stored throughout our bodies.  This leads to, yup, you guessed it, fat.

How does stress and cortisol lead to weight gain (fat)?

According to the leading experts in the field of weight loss, stress is the #1 culprit of weight gain.  You can eat all the healthy food and exercise all you want, but if you are living a stressful lifestyle it will be very difficult to maintain a healthy weight.  Fat protects our cells from stress.  It is the barrier our bodies put up to defend our cells against oxidants and toxins.

Like stated above, when our bodies are put under stress, either physical or emotional, we produce  cortisol in order to counter act the stress.  The cortisol tells our body to shut down temporarily while it manages to attempt to protect itself.  All the enzymes and chemicals in our bodies respond to one another.  Cortisol tells our muscles to stop working and sends in reserves to protect them from more stress or harm.  What are these reserves? Yup, you guessed it, Fat!

Obviously the more fatty foods you consume, the more reserves your body will have.  But regardless of your diet, your body will find fat to use.  This can actually have an effect on some peoples body type to actually make them too thin and make their muscles and bones softer and frail looking.  A poor diet is a stressful component on the body and will lead to obesity.

Think of all the stressful situations you have throughout your day…a stressful drive to work, loud noises at the workplace, eating on the go, and probably many more we don’t even think about, but just do.

So where does Cissus come in to play?

Cissus Quadrangularis is a natural cortisol inhibitor.  Studies have shown when cissus extract is taken at the correct dosage the levels of cortisol secreted not only decrease, but also do not show the negative effects on muscle and bone.  This allows our muscles to get the maximum benefits of a “stressful” exercise such as weightlifting.  We know we push our muscles and bones to the max when we work out, so we may as well reap the benefits of it.  By taking cissus extract you can be gaining muscle while reducing fat build-up at the same time!

Increase anabolic hormones (testosterone and growth hormone) + reduce excessive levels of catabolic hormones (cortisol) =
BUILD MUSCLE

Studies show that Cissus is capable of interacting with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by binding to it and acting as a GR antagonist, ensuring cortisol doesn’t bind to the receptor and therefore reducing cortisol’s negative effects and helping your muscle mass development.

There is increasing evidence that Cissus Quadrangularis may decrease the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis later in life.  Cissus Quadrangularis extract  taken during pregnancy has shown to stimulate bone growth in the fetus.

This study demonstrates that hormones affect development during sensitive periods of early life and permanently program the structure and physiology of the bone tissues.  A Phytochemical analysis of Cissus quadrangularis revealed a high content of ascorbic acid, carotene, phytosterol substances, and calcium.  Phytoestrogens, which are widely present in different plants in our environment, seem to have actions similar to estrogen on bone cells in vitro (in experiment environment).

What does this prove about Cissus Quadrangularis?

This study strongly suggests that Cissus Quadrangularis has an effect on estrogen levels and may be healthy for pregnant adults to take.

This study and many similar to it have provided stronger evidence that cissus quadrangularis extract is a promising agent for treating intrauterine growth defects in the skeletal system.  Also that cissus has positive effects on bone growth and repair and many other overall health areas.

Click here to read the full article on this study of Cissus Quadrangularis

Cissus Quadrangularis is an ancient medicinal plant native to the hotter parts of Ceylon and India. Cissus Quadrangularis was prescribed in the ancient Ayurvedic texts as a general tonic and analgesic, with specific bone fracture healing properties. Modern research has shed light on Cissus’ ability to speed bone healing by showing it acts as a glucocorticoid antagonist.

In clinical trials Cissus Quadrangularis has led to a fracture healing time on the order of 55 to 33 percent of that of controls. That cissus exerts antiglucocorticoid properties is suggested by a number of studies where bones were weakened by treatment with cortisol, and upon administration of Cissus Quadrangularis extract the cortisol induced weakening was halted, and the healing process begun.

The Cissus Experts highly recommend taking Cissus Extract for a multitude of reasons.  Cissus extract can help improve overall health in people of all ages, weight, and athletic abilities.

There have been many studies done to reveal that Cissus Quadrangularis prevents Osteoporosis and promotes stronger, healthier bones.  Cissus has been used for many centuries to heal bone fractures and reduce inflammation to injured muscles and bones.  In osteoporosis, the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture deteriorates, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone are altered.  There have been many theories to what causes osteoporosis and what can prevent it.  Many drugs that are offered can be dangerous due to the side effects.  Calcium supplements were said to prevent osteoporosis, but actually don’t because many times the body is unable to absorb the calcium, and this is the reason for the bone deterioration in the first place.

Study showing Cissus Quadrangularis Prevents Osteoporosis

A study done to evaluate the effects of the petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis on the proliferation rate of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells shows that Cissus quadrangularis stimulates osteoblastogenesis and can be used as preventive/alternative natural medicine for bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
Mesenchymal stem cells(MSC’s) were cultured in media with or without Cissus quadrangularis for 4 weeks and were then stained for alkaline phosphatase.

The results showed treatment with 100, 200 or 300 µg/mL petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis enhanced the differentiation of marrow mesenchymal stem cells into ALP-positive osteoblasts and increased extracellular matrix calcification.

Human bone is composed of a mineralized organic matrix and bone cells. Osteoblasts are active mature bone cells that synthesize the organic matrix and regulate the mineralization process. Osteogenesis begins with osteoblast formation and secretion of type I collagen, which makes up about 90% of the organic bone matrix, or the osteoid.

The results clearly show that the Cissus Quadrangularis plant extract enhances the proliferation and differentiation ability of Mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts.

To read more about his study please visit this website