Chinese Medicine Ingredient May Help Decrease Obesity

Active herbal ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicines may help treat obesity, finds a new study.

Traditional Chinese medicines herbal ingredient may help decrease the body weight, reports a new mice study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Diabetes.

The scientists were able to show that the active herbal substance, celastrol used in Chinese medicines leads to a significant weight loss and an improvement of diabetes in obese mice, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

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‘Celastrol, an active herbal substance present in Chinese medicines may help reduce body weight as it mainly stimulates satiety centers in the brain, which plays a significant role in the control of body weight. ’

The findings showed the celastrol specifically activates satiety centers in the brain, which play a central role in the control of body weight.

"Normally, those affected lose their satiety because the corresponding hormone leptin no longer works. The drug celastrol we investigated restores leptin sensitivity and hence satiety," said lead author Katrin Pfuhlmann from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen - German Research Centre for Environmental Health.

The study observed a significantly altered eating behavior in overweight animals.

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"The administration of celastrol resulted in significantly reduced food intake in the mouse model. Accordingly, we were able to determine an average loss of about 10 percent body weight within a week," the researchers said.

To what extent the findings can also be confirmed in humans is still unclear, according to the authors. However, study leader Pfluger is confident, "The satiety hormone leptin in humans and the mouse is almost identical, so celastrol has great potential," the report said.

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Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

The clinical trials are currently underway in the US.

"The satiety hormone leptin in humans and the mouse is almost identical, so celastrol has great potential," the researcher said.

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Overweight and obesity may increase the risk of many health problems, including diabetes, heart diseases, and certain cancers.

Source-IANS