Exploring herbal natural bioactives to treat obesity
Exploring herbal natural bioactives to treat obesity
- Author(s) P. Rawat, S. Das, B. Pentela and A. Mazumder
- Year: 2025
- Month: January
- Volume: 64
- Pages: 59-72
Worldwide, obesity has gained attention as a major health pandemic that can lead to mortality. It is caused by genetics, medicines, stress, sleep and physical inactivity. Over the past three decades, the incidences of obesity has grown. Conventional methods to manage obesity are medication, surgery, and lifestyle changes. However, there is an increasing interest in alternative methods, especially herbal, due to the adverse effects of conventional therapies. To control obesity, the development of novel, and non-toxic techniques are required. Herbs are primary sources of bioactive components used to treat several diseases, including obesity. Various active constituents in plants showed anti-obesity activity through inhibition of adipocyte differentiation, lipogenesis, suppression of appetite and enhancing lipolytic activity. One potential effective way to treat obesity is use of nanoparticles. These minute particles have the potential to directly transport anti-obesity medications to adipose tissue. Plant extracts are also used to synthesize nanoparticles, which is called “Green Synthesis”. This review explores the herbs (Allium cepa, Moringa oleifera, Tamarindus indica) used to treat obesity and discusses phytoconstituents (apigenin, lycopene, myricetin, and green synthesized nano-formulations) to manage obesity.
