Herbal Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity: An Overview of Scientific Evidence from 2007 to 2017

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Sep 2017

Obesity is a very common global health problem, and it is known to be linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Western medical treatments for obesity have many drawbacks, including effects on monoamine neurotransmitters and the potential for drug abuse and dependency. The safety of these medications requires improvement. Herbal medicine has been used for treatment of disease for more than 2000 years, and it has proven efficacy. Many studies have confirmed that herbal medicine is effective in the treatment of obesity, but the mechanisms are not clear. This article will discuss the possible effects and mechanisms of herbal medicine treatments for obesity that have been reported in the past decade.

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Herbal Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity: An Overview of Scientific Evidence from 2007 to 2017

Herbal Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity: An Overview of Scientific Evidence from 2007 to 2017 Yanfei Liu,1,2 Mingyue Sun,2 Hezhi Yao,2 Yue Liu,3 and Rui Gao2 1Graduate School of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China 2Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100091, China 3Cardiovascular Diseases Center, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100091, China Correspondence should be addressed to Yue Liu; moc.liamtoh@traeheuyuil and Rui Gao; moc.621@oagiur Received 22 May 2017; Revised 21 July 2017; Accepted 15 August 2017; Published 25 September 2017 Academic Editor: Gorkem Kismali Copyright © 2017 Yanfei Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Obesity is a very common global health problem, and it is known to be linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Western medical treatments for obesity have many drawbacks, including effects on monoamine neurotransmitters and the potential for drug abuse and dependency. The safety of these medications requires improvement. Herbal medicine has been used for treatment of disease for more than 2000 years, and it has proven efficacy. Many studies have confirmed that herbal medicine is effective in the treatment of obesity, but the mechanisms are not clear. This article will discuss the possible effects and mechanisms of herbal medicine treatments for obesity that have been reported in the past decade. 1. Introduction Obesity is a metabolic disorder characterized by an excess accumulation of fat in the body due to energy intake exceeding energy expenditure [1]. Obesity is an increasingly common phenomenon all over the world. Body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly used measure to evaluate the degree of obesity. In 2016, the AACE (the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) released new diagnostic criteria of obesity based on BMI combined with obesity-related complications (see Table 1) [2]. The latest study, which analyzed data from 68.5 million persons between 1980 and 2015, found that a total of 107.7 million children and 603.7 million adults were obese in 2015 [3]. Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, and the trend is becoming increasingly serious. Obesity is an independent risk factor for metabolic syndrome; major medical problems associated with the development of hypertension, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, and respiratory disorders; and ultimately life-threatening cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and certain types of cancer [4–6]. Table 1: The new definition of obesity from the [2]. The number of obese patients is increasing globally [7]. Reducing body weight by lifestyle alteration is advisable, but sometimes drug intervention is necessary [8]. Obesity drugs can be divided into five categories: central appetite suppressants, digestion and absorption blockers, metabolic promoters, obesity gene product inhibitors, and other drugs for the treatment of obesity [9]. However, the weight loss drugs prescribed in conventional medicine induce many adverse reactions, primarily effecting monoamine neurotransmitters, and causing drug abuse or dependence [10]. For example, sibutramine has been reported to commonly cause adverse events, including dry mouth, insomnia, anorexia, constipation, formation of thrombi, and neurological symptoms [11, 12]. Surgery is commonly used in morbidly obese patients (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) or in patients with comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea [13]. Common surgical complications include infection, postoperative anastomotic fistula, deep vein thrombosis, and long-term complications such as anemia and malnutrition [14, 15]. Given the dangers of obesity and the shortcomings of western medicine, alternative treatments should be further investigated. This article examines the potential role of herbal medicines in the treatment of obesity and summarizes the scientific evidence reported from 2007 to 2017. 2. Methods The PubMed and Web of Science were searched for studies published from 2007 to 2017 on humans or animals. The search terms were “obesity,” “obese,” or “antiobesity” and “herbal medicine,” “plant,” “plant medicine,” or “Chinese medicine” without narrowing or limiting search items. Relevant publications with available abstracts and titles were reviewed by two reviewers. The Clinical Trials (https://clinicaltrials.gov/) and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/) databases were searched for registered clinical trials of herbal medicine and obesity. The search terms were “obesity” or “obese” and “herbal medicine,” “plant,” “plant medicine,” or “Chinese medicine.” 3. Results3.1. The Role of Herbal Medicine in Tre (...truncated)


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Yanfei Liu, Mingyue Sun, Hezhi Yao, Yue Liu, Rui Gao. Herbal Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity: An Overview of Scientific Evidence from 2007 to 2017, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017, 2017, DOI: 10.1155/2017/8943059