Herbal medicines for suppressing appetite: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sahebkar- Khorasani, Monirsadat; Jarahi, Lida; Cramer, Holger; Safarian, Mohammad; Naghedi-Baghdar, Hamideh; Salari, Roshanak; Behravanrad, Pardis; Azizi, Hoda
• Is Part Of: Complementary therapies in medicine. Volume 44(2019)
• Page Start: 242
• Page End: 252
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: BMI body mass index -- VAS visual analogue scale -- RCT randomized controlled trial; Herbal medicine -- Plants -- Medicinal -- Appetite -- Obesity; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; Médecines parallèles -- Périodiques; Thérapeutique -- Périodiques; Alternative medicine; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 615.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.04.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-2299

Abstract

Highlights: The suppression of appetite with herbal medicines has become very popular in recent years. In this systematic review, randomized clinical trials that used herbal medicines to suppress appetite are reviewed. We found that Meratrim formulation, Yerba mate, Spinach, Brown beans, Rye, Sorghum, and Psyllium showed evidence for suppressing appetite. Abstract: The suppression of appetite with herbal medicines has become very popular in recent years. We conducted this systematic review to evaluate the recent scientific evidence regarding herbal medicines that are used to suppress appetite. We retrieved clinical trials from PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Scientific Information Database, and IranMedex from January 1, 2013 to April 24, 2018. English and Persian language randomized clinical trials that used herbal medicines to suppress appetite in healthy or obese or overweight individuals were included. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane methodology. Out of 591 articles, 22 trials with 973 participants were included. One study on the Meratrim formulation which contained the Sphaeranthus indicus flower heads extract and Garcinia mangostana fruit, revealed longer-term evidence; while 6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite. No serious adverse events were reported. Despite some methodological concerns in the included studies, there is promising evidence for suppressing appetite with herbal medicines that needs to be confirmed in long-term clinical trials with adequate sample size and higher methodological quality with more attention to safety, effective dose and side effects.