Forskolin and UTIs

Filed in archive UTIs on April 9, 2007

Ever heard of forskolin? It's an extract of the Indian Coleus plant, a herbal remedy available ay most health food stores. Research reveals that forskolin may be beneficial in the treatment of urinary tract infection.

An article on the Food Consumer.org web page tells us:

A common herbal extract available in health food stores could potentially enhance the ability of antibiotics to kill the bacteria that cause 90 percent of infections in the bladder and can greatly reduce recurrence of urinary tract infections, according to a new study published the results online April 8, 2007, in the journal Nature Medicine.

An article from Find Articles lists even more benefits of using Forskolin:

Forskolin, derived from the Coleus forskohlii herb, helps dieters shed fat while preserving muscle mass. The supplement also enhances fat loss when applied to human fat directly, and it is included in many thermogenic blends and fat-loss ointments. Another plus is that it actually lowers blood pressure. Forskolin bypasses the conventional thermogenic receptors that are used by ephedrine and other ephedrinelike fat burners and triggers fat breakdown within cells more directly. The same biochemical pathway that forskolin uses to target fat cells also allows it to enhance thyroid production and to relax blood vessels.

How about safety? Well, I found conflicting data. The Natural Products Association issues this warning:

Reported adverse effects of forskolin include hypotension and tachycardia (rapid heart beat). Forskolin or Coleus may have interactions with drugs, including anti-hypertensives and anticoagulants.

However, Nutra Ingredients.com states:

No significant interactions were observed; most notably, despite previous research indicating that Coleaus forskohlii may cause an increase in heart rate and decrease in blood pressure, this was not seen in the current study.

Perhaps Forskolin should be used with caution until more research and testing is done.