Cissus quadrangularis and GLP-1
A succulent vine in the grape family, used for centuries in Ayurvedic and West African traditions. Its standardized extract, CQR-300, raised active GLP-1 321% in a 2026 placebo-controlled trial.
The plant
Cissus quadrangularis is a succulent climbing vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. Its stems are square in cross-section, which gives it the species name, and it grows across India, Sri Lanka, West Africa and Southeast Asia. Common names include veldt grape, adamant creeper and, in Hindi, hadjod, which translates roughly as bone setter.
Traditional use
The stem has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and West African traditions, most often for bone and joint complaints and for digestion. It is eaten as food in parts of India and Africa. That long record of use is one reason the extract is recognized as safe for use in food in the United States.
From plant to extract
A whole plant varies from harvest to harvest. An extract does not have to. CQR-300 is made from the stem and standardized to a fixed content of ketosteroids and flavonoids, the compound groups the research points to. The result is a powder in which 300 mg means the same thing every time. On this site it is called Micro GLP-1, and the full trial record is on the CQR-300 page.
What it does to GLP-1
In a 16-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 248 adults taking 300 mg a day, active GLP-1 rose 321%, from 13.13 to 55.33 pg/mL. The authors describe two mechanisms working together: more GLP-1 released by the gut, and less of it cleared, because activity of DPP-4, the enzyme that breaks GLP-1 down, fell 17.8%. Downstream, participants ate 17.5% fewer calories a day and body fat fell 10.9%, all versus placebo.¹
This is the body's own GLP-1, nudged higher. Nothing synthetic is added, and the levels reached are nowhere near those produced by prescription medication. The distinction is spelled out on this page.
The compounds thought to matter
Cissus quadrangularis contains plant sterols and ketosteroids, a range of flavonoids including quercetin and kaempferol, and stilbenes related to resveratrol. Which of these carries the GLP-1 effect, and whether it is one compound or several working together, is still being studied. Standardizing the extract sidesteps the question in practice: the same mix, at the same strength, every time.
Safety
Centuries of food use, a standardized extract, and placebo-controlled human trials. Those are the three things we look for. As with anything that touches appetite and metabolism, talk to your physician first if you are pregnant, nursing, under 18, or taking medication.
Why Calla calls it Micro GLP-1
Because the name says what it does and what it is not. It raises GLP-1. It does so by a small, natural margin, through a plant, in a drink you have every morning. Micro is the honest word for that.
¹ Medicina 62(1):41, 2026. Randomized, placebo-controlled, 16 weeks, 248 adults, 300 mg per day. A study of the ingredient, not of Calla. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.