In addition to its use as part of a thermogenic formula, forskolin can be taken individually to enchance a weight-loss program or to lower blood pressure. The maximum dose of Forskolin that I recommend is 20 milligrams per day (from 200 milligrams Coleus forskohli). Of course, as with any supplement, you should discuss your usage with a knowledgeable physician or health care practitioner before taking it.
One small warning: forskolin can have prosexual effects such as promoting erections. My male patients and their wives usually consider this a positive side effect!
raysahelian.com Says:
Forskolin benefits
Over the years studies have shown that forskolin is a platelet aggregation inhibitor, relaxes vascular smooth muscle, decreases intraocular pressure due to glaucoma, and has anti-allergy potential since it inhibits IgE-mediated release of histamine and peptide leukotriene from human basophils and mast cells. Forskolin has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of cancer metastasis in mice injected with malignant cells. In a study in psychiatry, researchers gave it intravenous to four depressed and five schizophrenic patients. All four depressed patients showed a transient mood elevation or stimulation, as did two of the five schizophrenic patients.
This substance may be beneficial as a bronchodilator and anti-allergy agent.
May reduce blood pressure.
It is a United States Food and Drug Administration non-approved vasoactive agent that acts in synergism with prostaglandin E1 to induce smooth muscle relaxation.
In combination with other vasoactive agents, forskolin has demonstrated preliminary safety and efficacy in patients with vascular impotence. See Passion Rx below for a product that has libido boosting properties.
Dosage
Forskolin is available over the counter in pills and liquid in a variety of dosages — most commonly 50 mg coleus forskohlii herbal extract providing 9 mg forskolin and 125 mg coleus forskohlii extract providing 12.5 mg. Research is limited on the appropriate dosages for different conditions. The forskolin content of coleus root is typically 0.2% to 0.3%, therefore the content of crude coleus products may not be sufficient to produce a pharmacological effect. It is best to use standardized extracts which have it concentrated.
Coleus forskohlii is available in various extract potencies, for instance 10 percent forskolin, 18 percent, and 20 percent. We are not aware of any research that has tested various extract potencies to determine which is best to use.
Forskolin for allergy
Inhibition of IgE-mediated release of histamine and peptide leukotriene from human basophils and mast cells by forskolin.
Biochem Pharmacol. 1987.
We found that it caused a concentration-related inhibition of IgE-mediated release of histamine and peptide leukotriene C4 (LTC4) from human basophils and lung mast cells. Our data suggest that it modulates the release of mediators of immediate hypersensitivity reactions via the activation of adenylate cyclase in human basophils and mast cells.
Forskolin for asthma
It is still not very clear to me whether this natural extract is effective for asthma. Results of studies have not been very convincing.
J Int Med Res. 2010.
Forskolin compared with beclomethasone for prevention of asthma attacks: a single-blind clinical trial.
Patients with mild or moderately persistent adult asthma were randomly assigned to receive forskolin (one 10-mg capsule orally per day) or beclomethasone (two 50 microg inhalations every 12 h) for 2 months. No statistically significant improvement occurred in any lung function parameter in the forskolin-treated patients. There was no statistically significant difference between both treatment groups for any lung function parameter at baseline or after treatment. None of the beclomethasone-treated patients had an asthma attack and one forskolin-treated patient had a mild asthma attack during the 2-month study period.
Forskolin versus sodium cromoglycate for prevention of asthma attacks: a single-blinded clinical trial.
J Int Med Res. 2006.
Forty patients of either sex with mild persistent or moderate persistent asthma were assigned randomly to 6 months of treatment with forskolin at 10 mg a day orally (capsules) or with two inhalations of sodium cromoglycate every 8 h, three times a day. The number of patients who had asthma attacks during the treatment period was significantly lower among those receiving forskolin than among those receiving sodium cromoglycate.
Relaxant effects of forskolin on guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.
Lung. 1987.
Forskolin caused dose-dependent relaxant effects on resting tone and on leukotriene C4, leukotriene D4, and carbachol-induced contraction of tracheal smooth muscle. Moreover, with propranolol pretreatment the relaxant effect on tracheal smooth muscle did not change, whereas with the same pretreatment the relaxant effect of isoproterenol diminished. These results suggest that it relaxes airway smooth muscle in guinea pigs in vitro and in vivo by raising tissue cyclic AMP levels and that its actions are independent of beta-adrenoceptors.
Bladder, urinary tract infections
Forskolin may boost the ability of antibiotics to kill E. coli -- the bacteria responsible for 90 percent of bladder infections. In studies in mice, Duke microbiologist Dr. Soman N. Abraham found that E. coli bacteria hide in cells lining the bladder, out of reach of antibiotics. However, when the researchers injected forskolin directly into the bladder or administered it intravenously, it appeared to expel more than 75 percent of "hiding" E. coli, rendering it susceptible to antibiotics. While customary antibiotic treatment kills the vast majority of the bacteria, according to Dr. Soman Abraham, small numbers of bacteria may survive the antibiotic bath by sneaking into the lining of the bladder. There they lie there until the opportune moment, after antibiotic treatment, to come out and start multiplying again. By revving up cellular activity, forskolin helps flush out bacteria from their niches and into the urine, where they can be killed by antibiotics. Nature Medicine, 2007.
Comments: Whether forskolin supplements taken orally help individuals with bladder infections is not clear until human trials are done.
Cancer
Forskolin: a potential antimetastatic agent.
Int J Cancer. 1983.
Forskolin is a potent platelet aggregation inhibitor and has been examined for its effects on (a) tumor-induced human platelet aggregation and (b) pulmonary tumor colonization in mice. These studies employed a subline of B16 murine melanoma, B16-F10 (highly metastatic to lungs). Forskolin strongly inhibits the melanoma cell-induced human platelet aggregation. A single dose administered intraperitoneally 30 or 60 min prior to tail vein injection of cultured B16-F10 cells reduced tumor colonization in the lungs by more than 70%. These findings raise the possibility that forskolin could prove of value in the clinic for the prevention of cancer metastasis.
