A comprehensive review of clinically proven medicinal plants in the treatment of overweight and obesity
Obesity has become a global health problem, more specifically a pandemic in today’s world due to its high prevalence in the recent era.
The increased risk of morbidity and mortality in obese patients can be attributed to its association with the development of several life-threatening conditions. Plants are considered one of the most important sources of bioactive molecules, used against a wide range of health disorders.
This systematic review explores the efficacy and safety profile of medicinal plants commonly used in the management of obesity, which can help people maintain a healthy weight.
The study is based on a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “plants in obesity,” “plants used for weight reduction,” or similar keywords. Only medicinal plants whose anti-obesity effect has been clinically proven were selected for this study, and beneficial and adverse effects along with their mechanism of action were investigated.
Extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris, green coffee, Yerba Mate, green tea, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, and the combination of Cissus quadrangularis/Irvingia gabonensis showed significant weight reduction in both humans and animals. All of these plant extracts appear to act on different physiological pathways, and none of these extracts showed any notable adverse effects in human or animal models.
The review suggests that the medicinal plants discussed are effective in reducing weight in obese patients without causing any notable adverse reactions. Although further studies are needed to confirm their exact molecular mechanism and safety in human use.
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Source: Aziz MA, Millat MS, Akter T, Hossain MS, Islam MM, Mohsin S, Ansari F, Kabir A, Amin MN, Islam MS. A comprehensive review on clinically proven medicinal plants in the treatment of overweight and obesity, with mechanistic insights. Heliyon. 2023 Feb 4;9(2):e13493.
