Key result
Active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine exhibit anti-obesity effects through mechanisms including appetite suppression, lipid metabolism improvement, and increased energy expenditure.
Why the study?
Do active ingredients from natural botanicals in traditional Chinese medicine have anti-obesity effects?
Do active ingredients from natural botanicals in traditional Chinese medicine have anti-obesity effects?
Active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine offer potential alternative therapeutic mechanisms for the treatment of obesity.
May support preclinical exploration of TCM compounds for obesity; leaves open clinical translation pending rigorous RCTs.
Obesity is considered as a chronic disease that can induce a series of comorbidities and complications. Chinese medicine has long clinical experiences in the treatment of obesity. This review summarizes the natural products from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that are reported to have anti-obesity effects in the past two decades. Botanic TCM comprises 90% of total Chinese crude drugs, and generally contains various active ingredients, in which the effective anti-obesity ingredients identified can be divided into saponins, polysaccharides, alkaloids, polyphenols and others. Astragaloside IV, glycyrrhizin, macrostemonoside A, berberine, betaine, capsaicin, matrine, methyl piperate, piperine, rutaecarpine, asimilobine, epigallocatechingallate, magnolol, resveratrol, soybean-isoflavone, α-linolenic acid, emodin, geniposide, phillyrin, salidroside and ursolic acid are specified in this review, and their sources, models, efficacy are described. It is concluded that the mechanisms of these components for the treatment of obesity include: (i) suppression of appetite, increase of satiety, reduction of energy intake; (ii) reduction in the digestion and absorption of exogenous lipid; (iii) attenuation of the synthesis of endogenous lipid; (iv) promotion of the oxidation and expenditure of lipid and (v) improvement of lipid metabolism disorder. Authors believe that the effective compounds from TCM will provide an alternative and hopeful way for the treatment of obesity.
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Zhang et al. (2014) conducted a review in Obesity. Active ingredients from natural botanicals (traditional Chinese medicine) was evaluated on Anti-obesity effects and mechanisms. Active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine exhibit anti-obesity effects through mechanisms including appetite suppression, lipid metabolism improvement, and increased energy expenditure.
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