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Natural anti-obesity agents

Research Authors
Gamal A Mohamed, Sabrin RM Ibrahim, Ehab S Elkhayat, Riham Salah El Dine.
Research Department
Research Journal
Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University
Research Publisher
Elsevier
Research Rank
2
Research Vol
52
Research Website
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bfopcu.2014.05.001
Research Year
2014
Research Abstract

Obesity is a complex disease caused by the interaction of a myriad of genetic, dietary,
lifestyle, and environmental factors, which favors a chronic positive energy balance, and leads to
increased body fat mass. The incidence of obesity is rising at an alarming rate and is becoming a
major public health concern with incalculable social costs. Indeed, obesity facilitates the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases in addition
to chronic diseases such as stroke, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, some cancers, and inflammation based pathologies. Recent researches demonstrated the potential of natural products to counteract
obesity. Multiple-natural product combinations may result in a synergistic activity that increases
their bioavailability and action on multiple molecular targets, offering advantages over chemical
treatments. In this review, we discuss the anti-obesity potential of natural products and analyze
their mechanisms.