Study Discovered herbal ingredient lowers the feeling of hunger

Study: Against the constant hunger

A herbal ingredient from Chinese medicine shows promising results in weight loss. This is reported by scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München. If the drug called Celastrol also prove in clinical trials, it would be a new treatment option against morbid obesity.

The research team was able to show that the herbal drug celastrol used in Chinese medicine leads to a significant weight loss and to an improvement of diabetes in obese mice. Celastrol specifically activates satiety centers in the brain that play a central role in controlling body weight. Usually those affected lose their satiety because the corresponding hormone leptin no longer works. The tested active substance Celastrol restores the leptin sensitivity and thus the saturation.

Leptin is a fatty tissue-derived hormone that causes satiety through activation of the leptin receptors in the brain. In obese mice and humans, leptin is present in high concentrations in the blood, but can not activate the receptors due to resistance. Ultimately, this leads to the lack of control of food intake, with the known consequences such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In fact, the researchers observed a significantly altered eating behavior in overweight animals. The administration of Celastrol resulted in significantly reduced food intake in the mouse model, the researchers report. Accordingly, they were able to notice an average loss of about ten percent body weight in one week.

To what extent the findings can also be confirmed in humans is still unclear, according to the authors. But the researchers are confident: The satiety hormone leptin in humans and the mouse almost identical, Celastrol have great potential. "The change in dietary habits and living conditions necessary for weight loss will not replace Celastrol, but it could be the patient in his efforts to a support sustainable weight reduction.

The active ingredient Celastrol comes from Wilford's three-winged fruit, a representative of spindle tree plants from southern China. So far, the substance was mainly due to anti-inflammatory effect. The study can be found here. (Sb)