Slimming plant active ingredient discovered against hunger

Help with weight loss: Herbal active ingredient activates satiety center in the brain

According to German researchers, a herbal active ingredient from Chinese medicine shows promising results in weight loss. He could possibly be a new treatment option for pathological overweight.

Unhealthy overweight

Considering that overweight or obesity can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack, there are truly enough reasons to get rid of excess pounds. Many try to become slimmer again through diets. But most of these methods are not suitable for everyday use and experts argue anyway for years, which form of diet is the best. A new pill for weight loss, which US researchers recently reported, may help. Or a herbal ingredient from Chinese medicine. This activates, according to German scientists, satiety centers in the brain.

The herbal active ingredient Celastrol used in Chinese medicine can lead to significant weight loss and an improvement in diabetes. (Image: andriano_cz / fotolia.com)

Significant weight loss and improvement of diabetes

The guideline "Prevention and Therapy of Obesity" recommends at least five to ten percent less weight per year for people with pathological overweight, depending on the body mass index (BMI).

But despite numerous diet and lifestyle offers, only a few reach this goal.

"The fall below this 'magic limit' would be so important, it leads to an improvement in the metabolism and metabolic comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes," explains. Paul Pfluger from Helmholtz Zentrum München in a communication.

The scientist and his team from the Department of Neurobiology of Diabetes at Helmholtz Zentrum München have now been successful in contributing to the development of new anti-obesity drugs.

The researchers were able to show that the herbal active ingredient Celastrol used in Chinese medicine leads to a significant weight loss and to an improvement of the diabetes in obese mice.

The study results were recently published in the journal "Diabetes".

Active ingredient switches the feeling of satiety back on

The scientists from Munich were able to show that celastrol specifically activates satiety centers in the brain, which play a central role in the control of body weight.

"Celastrol reactivates the body's weight management mechanisms, which otherwise expose it to obesity," explains Katrin Pfuhlmann, PhD student and first author of the study.

"Usually those affected lose their satiety because the corresponding hormone leptin no longer works. The drug Celastrol we investigated restores leptin sensitivity and thus saturation, "said the researcher.

Support patients in sustainable weight loss

In fact, the experts observed a significantly changed eating behavior in overweight animals.

"The administration of Celastrol resulted in significantly reduced food intake in the mouse model," reports study leader Paul Pfluger. "Accordingly, we were able to determine an average loss of about ten percent body weight within a week."

To what extent the findings can be confirmed in humans, according to the authors is still unclear. But Pfluger is confident: "The saturation hormone leptin acts in humans and the mouse almost identical, so Celastrol has great potential."

Celastrol will not replace the change in dietary habits and living conditions necessary to lose weight, but it can support the patient in his efforts to achieve sustained weight reduction.

"Clinical trials are currently underway in the US, and we are very excited about the first data from them," says Pfluger. (Ad)