Review Article: Herbal Approach for Obesity Management

Abstract

Obesity, a complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Usage of herbs for the management of obesity in the recent times is attracting attention. A web and manual based literature survey was conducted to assess the amount of information available on the herbal products for weight management. Traditional literature, PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar databases were screened up to February 2012. The search words were “obesity", "herbal medicine/products/extracts”, "medicinal plants", "traditional medicine", "Ayurvedic medicine" without narrowing/limiting searching words or elements. Publications only with abstracts/full articles and books were reviewed in the search. Based on the available literature, for many of the herbal and weight loss products, there is little published information and there have been no clinical trials or the level of evidence is limited. Our literature survey also indicated that these herbal products fall under an acceptable level of evidence or with no scientific background at all, or they have a scientific rational but not to an acceptance level. Attempts were made in the review to define the features of possible herbal weight loss product. An ideal herbal anti obesity product should reduce the weight by 10% over placebo of treatment by showing an evidence of improvement of bio markers like blood pressure, lipids and glycemia without any side effects.

Share and Cite:

C. Chandrasekaran, M. Vijayalakshmi, K. Prakash, V. Bansal, J. Meenakshi and A. Amit, "Review Article: Herbal Approach for Obesity Management," American Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 7A, 2012, pp. 1003-1014. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2012.327119.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] World Health Organization, “Obesity. Preventing and managing the global epidemic, Report of a WHO consultation (WHO Technical Report Series 894),” 2000. http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/obesity/WHO_TRS_894/en/
[2] “Worldwide Obesity Trends-Globesity,” http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/causes-of-obesity.htm
[3] Centre for Public Health Excellence at NICE (UK), National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care (UK), “Obesity: The Prevention, Identification, Assessment and Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults and Children,” National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (UK) (NICE Clinical Guidelines, No. 43), 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63696/
[4] “Obesity and overweight,” Fact sheet No. 311, 2012. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/index.html
[5] J. Scheen, “From obesity to diabetes: why, when and who?,” Acta Clinica Belgica Vol. 55, No. 1, 2002, pp. 9-15.
[6] J. P. Felber and A. Golay, “Pathways from obesity to diabetes,” International Journal of Obesity Relatated Metabolism and Disorders, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2002, pp. 39-45.
[7] G. R. Bhatti, R. Qureshi and M. Shah, “Ethnobotany of Calotropis procera with especial reference to the people of Nara Desert,” Scientific Sindh, 1998, pp.13-22.
[8] U. Rahman and K. Zaman, “Medicinal Plants with Hypoglycemic Activity,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 26, No. 1, 1989, pp. 1-55.
[9] "FDA Briefing Document NDA 21-888 Zimulti (rimonabant) Tablets, 20 mg Sanofi Aventis Advisory Committee" (PDF),” Food and Drug Administration, 2007. http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/07/briefing/2007-4306b1-fda-backgrounder.pdf.
[10] D. Cooke and S. Bloom, “The obesity pipeline: current strategies in the development of anti-obesity drugs,” Nature reviews, Vol. 5, No. 11, 2006, pp. 919-931.
[11] R. M. Pinder, R. N. Brogden, P. R. Sawyer, T. M. Speight and G. S. Avery, “Fenfluramine: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic efficacy in obesity,” Drugs, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1975, pp. 241-323.
[12] Brenot, P. Herve, P. Petitpretz, F. Parent, P Duroux and G. Simonneau, “Primary pulmonary hypertension and fenfluramine use,” British Heart journal, Vol. 70, No. 6, 1993, pp. 537-541.
[13] H. M. Connolly, J. L. Crary, M. D. McGoon, D. D. Hensrud, B. S. Edwards, W. D. Edwards and H. V. Schaff, “Valvular heart disease associated with fenfluramine-phentermine,” New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 337, No. 9, 1997, pp. 581-588.
[14] B. A. Swinburn, I. Caterson, J. C. Seidell and W. P. James, “Diet, nutrition and the prevention of excess weight gain and obesity,” Public Health Nutrition, Vol. 7, No. 1A, 2004, pp. 123-146.
[15] J. P. Park, J. H. Kim, M. K. Park and J. W. Yun, “Potential agents for cancer and obesity treatment with herbal medicines from the green garden,” Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 6, 2011, pp. 1065-1076.
[16] K. A. Amin and M. A. Nagy, “Effect of Carnitine and herbal mixture extract on obesity induced by high fat diet in rats,” Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, Vol. 1, No. 17, 2009, pp. 1-14.
[17] R. P. Pickering, B. F. Grant, S. P. Chou, and W. M. Compton, “Are overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity associated with psychopathology? Results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions,” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 68, No. 7, 2007, pp. 998-1009.
[18] F. B. Dickerson, C. H. Brown, and J. A. Kreyenbuhl, “Obesity among individuals with serious mental illness,” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Vol. 113, No. 4, 2006, pp. 306-313.
[19] G. E. Simon, M. Von Korff, and K. Saunders, “Association between obesity and psychiatric disorders in the US adult population,” Arch Gen Psychiatry, Vol. 63, No. 7, 2006, pp. 824-830.
[20] L. J. Aronne, “Classification of Obesity and Assessment of Obesity-Related Health Risks,” Obesity Research, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2002, pp. 105-115.
[21] J. I. Baile and M. J. Gonzalez, “Psychopathological comorbidity in obesity,” Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2011, pp. 253-261.
[22] Britz, W. Siegfried, A. Ziegler, C. Lamertz, B. M. Herpertz-Dahlmann, H. Remschmidt, H. U. Wittchen and J. Hebebrand, “Rates of psychiatric disorders in a clinical study group of adolescents with extreme obesity and in obese adolescents ascertained via a population based study,” International Journal of Obesity related metabolism and disorder, Vol. 24, No. 12, 2000, pp. 1707-1714.
[23] J. Lee, K. Chae, J. Ha, B.Y. Park, H. S. Lee, S. Jeong, M.Y. Kim and M. Yoon, “Regulation of obesity and lipid disorders by herbal extracts from Morus alba, Melissa officinalis, and Artemisia capillaries in high-fat diet-induced obese mice,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 115, No. 2, 2008, pp. 263-270.
[24] D. Gosh, “A botanical approach to managing obesity,” Research Online, University of Wollongong, 2009.
[25] P. V. Sharma, “Dravya Guna Vijnana,” Chaukhambha Bharati Academy, Varanasi, India, 1993.
[26] P. C. Sharma, M.B. Yelne, T.J. Dennis, and A. Joshi, “Database on medicinal plants used in Ayurveda,” Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, India, 2000.
[27] V. M. Gogte, “Medicinal Plants, Part III in Ayurvedic Pharmacology and Therapeutic Uses of Medicinal Plants (Dravyagunavignyan),” Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, India, 2002.
[28] Misra and R. Vaisya, “Bhavaprakasha Nigantu,” Chaukamba Sanskrit Sansthan, Varanasi, India, 2005.
[29] J. W. Yun, “Possible anti-obesity therapeutics from nature –A review,” Phytochemistry, Vol. 71, No. 14-15, 2010, pp. 1625-1641.
[30] R. B. Saper, D. M. Eisenberg and R. S. Phillips, ”Common dietary supplements for weight loss,” American Family Physician Journal, Vol. 70, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1731-1738.
[31] L. L. Ioannides-Demos, L. Piccenna and J. J. Mc Neil, “Pharmacotherapies for obesity: past, current, and future therapies,” Journal of Obesity, Vol. 2011, 2011, doi:10.1155/2011/179674.
[32] R. B. Birari and K. K. Bhutani, “Pancreatic lipase inhibitors from natural sources: unexplored potential,” Drug Discovery Today, Vol. 12, No. 19-20, 2007, pp. 879-889.
[33] T. Tsujita, H. Takaichi, T. Takaku, S. Aoyama and J. Hiraki, “Antiobesity action of epolylysine, a potent inhibitor of pancreatic lipase,” Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 47, No. 8, 2006, pp. 1852-1858.
[34] L. K. Han, Y. N. Zheng, M. Yoshikawa, H. Okuda and Y. Kimura, “Anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from Panax japonicus rhizome,” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,” Vol. 5, No. 9, 2005, pp. 1-10.
[35] L. K. Han, B. J. Xu, Y. Kimura, Y. Zheng and H. Okuda, “Platycodi radix affects lipid metabolism in mice with high fat diet-induced obesity,” The Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 130, No. 11, 2000, pp. 2760-2764.
[36] E. Kishino, T. Ito, K. Fujita and Y. Kiuchi, “A mixture of the Salacia reticulata (Kotala himbutu) aqueous extract and cyclodextrin reduces the accumulation of visceral fat mass in mice and rats with high-fat diet-induced obesity,” Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136, No. 2, 2006, pp. 433-439.
[37] Y. Ono, E. Hattori, Y. Fukaya, S. Imai and Y. Ohizumi, “Anti-obesity effect of Nelumbo nucifera leaf extract in mice and rats,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 106, No. 2, 2006, pp. 238-244.
[38] H. Y. Kim and M.H. Kang, “Screening of Korean medicinal plants for lipase inhibitory activity,” Phytotherapy Research, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2005, pp. 359-361.
[39] D. A. Moreno, N. Ilic, A. Poulev and I. Raskin, “Effects of Arachis hypogaea nutshell extract on lipid metabolic enzymes and obesity parameters,” Life Sciences, Vol. 78, No. 24, 2006, pp. 2797-2803.
[40] H. Shimoda, E. Seki and M. Aitani, “Inhibitory effect of green coffee bean extract on fat accumulation and body weight gain in mice,” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 9, 2006, pp. 1-9.
[41] L. K. Han, T. Takaku, J. Li, Y. Kimura and H. Okuda, “Anti-obesity action of oolong tea,” International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1999, pp. 98-105.
[42] M. Nakai, Y. Fukui, S. Asami, Y. Toyo-da-Ono, T. Iwashita, H. Shibata, T. Mitsunaga, F. Hashimoto and Y. Kiso, “Inhibitory effects of oolong tea polyphenols on pancreatic lipase in vitro,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 53, No. 11, 2005, pp. 4593-4598.
[43] F. Thielecke and M. Boschmann, “The potential role of green tea catechins in the prevention of the metabolic syndrome – a review,” Phytochemistry, Vol. 70, No. 1, 2009, pp. 11-24.
[44] H. K. Kim, M. Della-Fera, J. Lin and C.A. Baile, “Docosahexaenoic acid inhibits adipocyte differentiation and induces apoptosis in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes,” The Journal of nutrition, Vol. 136, No. 12, 2006, pp. 2965-2969.
[45] M. Spiegelman, E. Hu, J.B. Kim and R. Brun, “PPAR gamma and the control of Adipogenesis,” Biochimistry, Vol. 79, No. 2-3, 1997, pp. 111-112.
[46] Y. B. Lombardo and A. G. Chicco, “Effects of dietary polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids on dyslipidemia and insulin resistance in rodents and humans. A review,” The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2006, pp. 1-13.
[47] T. Murase, A. Nagasawa, J. Suzuki, T. Hase and I. Tokimitsu, “Beneficial effects of tea catechins on diet-induced obesity: stimulation of lipid catabolism in the liver,” International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, Vol. 26, No. 11, 1999, pp. 1459-1464.
[48] Y. H. Kao, R. A. Hiipakka and S. Liao, “Modulation of endocrine systems and food intake by green tea epigallocatechin gallate,” Endocrinology, Vol. 141, No. 3, 2000, pp. 980-987.
[49] K. Sayama, S. Lin, G. Zheng and I. Oguni, “Effects of green tea on growth, food utilization and lipid metabolism in mice,” In Vivo, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2000, pp. 481-484.
[50] P. J. Chien, Y. C. Chen, S. C. Lu and F. Sheu, “Dietary Flavonoids Suppress Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes,” Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2005, pp. 168-175.
[51] K. M. Hargrave, C. Li, B. J. Meyer, S. D. Kachman, D. L. Hartzell, M. A. Della-Fera, J. L. Miner and C. A. Baile, “Adipose depletion and apoptosis induced by trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic Acid in mice,” Obesity Research, Vol. 10, No. 12, 2002, pp. 1284-1290.
[52] J. T. Hwang, I. J. Park, J. I. Shin, Y. K. Lee, S. K. Lee, H. W. Baik, J. Ha and O. J. Park, “Genistein, EGCG, and capsaicin inhibit adipocyte differentiation process via activating AMP-activated protein kinase,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Com-munication, Vol. 338, No. 2, 2002, pp. 694-699.
[53] C. L. Hsu and G. C. Yen, “Induction of cell apoptosis in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes by flavonoids is associated with their antioxidant activity,” Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, Vol. 50, No. 11, 2006, pp. 1072-1079.
[54] J. Y. Yang, M. A. Della-Fera, D. L. Hartzell, C. Nelson-Dooley, D. B. Hausman and C. A. Baile, “Esculetin induces apoptosis and inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells,” Obesity, Vol. 14, No. 10, 2006, pp. 1691-1699.
[55] J. Y. Yang, M. A. Della-Fera, S. Rayalam, S. Ambati, D. L. Hartzell, H. J. Park and C. A. Baile, “Enhanced inhibition of adipogenesis and induction of apoptosis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes with combinations of resveratrol and quercetin,” Life Sciences, Vol. 82, No. 19-20, 2008, pp. 1032-1039.
[56] F. Picard, M. Kurtev, N. Chung, A. Topark-Ngarm, T. Senawong, R. Machado De Oliveira, M. Leid, M. W. McBurney and L. Guarente, “Sirt1 promotes fat mobilization in white adipocytes by repressing PPAR-gamma,” Nature, Vol. 429, No. 6993, 2004, pp. 771-776.
[57] S. Rayalam, M. A. Della-Fera and C. A. Baile, “Phytochemicals and regulation of the adipocyte life cycle,” The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Vol. 19, No. 11, 2008, pp. 717-726.
[58] J. P. Flatt, “Differences in basal energy expenditure and obesity,” Obesity, Vol. 15, No. 11, 2007, pp. 2546-2548.
[59] R. N. Redinger, “Fat storage and the biology of energy expenditure,” Translational Research, Vol. 154, No. 2, 2009, pp. 52-60.
[60] Cannon and J. Nedergaard, “Brown adipose tissue: function and physiological significance,” Physiological Reviews, Vol. 84, No. 1, 2004, pp. 277-359.
[61] M. V. Kumar, G. D. Sunvold and P. J. Scarpace, “Dietary vitamin a supplementation in rats: suppression of leptin and induction of UCP1 mRNA,” Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 40, No. 5, 1999, pp. 824-829.
[62] S. S. Yoon, Y. H. Rhee, H. J. Lee, E. O. Lee, M. H. Lee, K. S. Ahn, H. T. Lim and S. H. Kim, “Uncoupled protein 3 and p38 signal pathways are involved in anti-obesity activity of Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bora Valley,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 118, No. 3, 2008, pp. 396-404.
[63] G. Dulloo, “Ephedrine, xanthines and prostaglandin-inhibitors: actions and interactions in the stimulation of thermogenesis,” International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1993, pp. 35–40.
[64] S. Racotta, J. Leblanc and D. Richard, “The effect of caffeine on food intake in rats: involvement of corticotro-pin-releasing factor and the sympatho-adrenal system,” Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, Vol. 48, No. 4, 1994, pp. 887-892.
[65] T. Kawada, T. Watanabe, T. Takaishi, T. Tanaka and K. Iwai, “Capsaicin-induced beta-adrenergic action on energy metabolism in rats: influence of capsaicin on oxygen consumption, the respiratory quotient, and substrate utilization,” Proceeding of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, Vol. 183, No. 2, 1986, pp. 250-256.
[66] D. Langin, “Adipose tissue lipolysis as a metabolic pathway to define pharmacological strategies against obesity and the metabolic syndrome,” Pharmacological Research, Vol. 53, No. 6, 2006, pp. 482-491.
[67] E. Ohkoshi, H. Miyazaki, K. Shindo, H. Watanabe, A. Yoshida and H. Yajima, “Constituents from the leaf of Nelumbo nucifera stimulate lipolysis in the white adipose tissue of mice,” Planta Medica, Vol. 73, No. 12, 2007, pp. 1255-1259.
[68] S. Flier, “Obesity wars: molecular progress confronts an expanding epidemic,” Cell, Vol. 116, No. 2, 2004, pp. 337-350.
[69] G. J. Morton, D. E. Cummings, D. G. Baskin, G. S. Barsh and M. W. Schwartz, “Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight,” Nature, Vol. 443, No. 7109, 2006, pp. 289-295.
[70] F. Di Pierro, A. B. Menghi, A. Barreca, M. Lucarelli and A. Calandrelli, “Green select Phytosome as an adjunct to a low-calorie diet for treatment of obesity: a clinical trial,” Alternative Medicine Reviews, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009, pp. 154-160.
[71] S. O. Kim, S. J. Yun, B. Jung, E. H. Lee, D. H. Hahm, I. Shim and H. J. Lee, “ Hypolipidemic effects of crude extract of adlay seed (Coix lachrymajobi var. mayuen) in obesity rat fed high fat diet: relations of TNF-alpha and leptin mRNA expressions and serum lipid levels,” Life Sciences, Vol. 75, No. 11, 2004, pp. 1391-1404.
[72] D. S. Weigle, “Pharmacological therapy of obesity: past, present, and future,” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 88, No. 6, 2003, pp. 2462-2469.
[73] H. Tecott, L. M. Sun, S. F. Akana, A. M. Strack, D. H. Lowenstein, M. F. Dallman and D. Julius, “Eating disorder and epilepsy in mice lacking 5-HT2c serotonin receptors,” Nature, Vol. 374, No. 6522, pp. 542–546.
[74] J. C. Halford and J. E. Blundell, “Pharmacology of appetite suppression,” Progress in Drug Research, Vol. 54, 2000, pp. 25-58.
[75] Wynne, S. Stanley, B. Mc Gowan and S. Bloom, “Appetite control,” The Journal of Endocrinology, Vol. 184, No. 2, 2005, pp. 291-318.
[76] S. Wolfram, Y. Wang and F. Thielecke, “Anti-obesity effects of green tea: from bedside to bench,” Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2006, pp. 176-187.
[77] H. S. Moon, H. G. Lee, Y. J. Choi, T. G. Kim and C. S. Cho, “Proposed mechanisms of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate for anti-obesity,” Chemico-Biological Interactions, Vol. 167, No. 2, 2007, pp. 85-98.
[78] R. T. Borchardt and J. A. Huber, “Catechol O-methyltransferase. 5. Structure– activity relationships for inhibition by flavonoids,” Journal of Medical Chemistry, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1975, pp. 120-122.
[79] Boschmann and F. Thielecke, “The effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on thermogenesis and fat oxidation in obese men: a pilot study,” Journal of the American Collage of Nutrition, Vol. 26, No. 4, 2007, pp. 389-395.
[80] D. Lane and S. H. Cha, “Effect of glucose and fructose on food intake via malonyl-CoA signaling in the brain,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communication, Vol. 382, No. 1, 2009, pp. 1-5.
[81] S. H. Cha, M. Wolfgang, Y. Tokutake, S. Chohnan and M. D. Lane, “Differential effects of central fructose and glucose on hypothalamic malonyl-CoA and food intake,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 105, No. 44, 2008, pp. 16871-16875.
[82] K. Singh, P. S. Patki, and S. K. Mitra, “Evaluation of clinical efficacy of AyurSlim on body weight, body mass index, lipid profile and skin fold thickness: A Phase IV clinical study,” The Antiseptic, Vol. 105, No. 5, 2005, pp. 241-243.
[83] M. P. Godard, B. A. Johnson, and S. R. Richmond, “Body Composition and Hormonal Adaptations Associated with Forskolin Consumption in Overweight and Obese Men,” Obesity Research, Vol. 13, No. 8, 2005, pp. 1335-1343.
[84] S. A. Lieberman, “New Potential Weapon for Fighting Obesity. Forskolin—the Active Diterpene in Coleus,” Alternative Complementary Therapy, Vol. 10, No. 6, 2004, pp. 330-333.
[85] S. Henderson, B. Magu, C. Rasmussen, S. Lan-caster, C. Kerksick, P. Smith, C. Melton, P. Cowan, M. Greenwood, C. Earnest, A. Almada, P. Milnor, T. Magrans, R. Bowden, S. Ounpraseuth, A. Thomas, and R. B. Kreider, “Effects of Coleus Forskohlii Supplementation on Body Composition and Hematological Profiles in Mildly Overweight Women,” Journal of International Society for Sports Nutrition, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2005, pp. 54-62.
[86] J. Brown, “Lipotrim diet in general practice,” British Journal of General Practice, Vol. 49, No. 439, 1999, pp. 147-148.
[87] J. Udani, M. Hardy, and D.C. Madsen, “Blocking Carbohydrate Absorption and Weight Loss: A Clinical Trial Using Phase 2TM Brand Proprietary Fractionated White Bean Extract,” Alternative Medicine Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2004, pp. 63-69.
[88] V. Ignjatovic, E. Ogru, M. Heffernan, R. Libinaki, Y. Lim, and F. Ng, “Studies on the use of "slimax", a chinese herbal mixture, in the treatment of human obesity,” Pharmaceutical Biology, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2000, pp. 30-35.
[89] E. Toromanyan, G. Aslanyan, E. Amroyan, E. Gabrielyan, and A. Panossian, “Efficacy of Slim339in Reducing Body Weight of Overweight and Obese Human Subjects,” Phytotherapy Research, Vol. 21, No. , 2007, pp. 1177-1181.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.