Systematic Review on Herbal Treatment for Obesity in Adults

Abstract

Objectives This systematic review is to support the effectiveness of herbal medicine for the treatment of simple obesity in adults. Methods A total of 8 electronic databases were searched in English, Chinese and Korean. Standard methodologies for the systematic review were used to search, analyze and synthesize data based on NECA's guideline for undertaking systematic review and meta-analyses for intervention. Results After screening 1781 potential articles, we identified 13 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We conducted a meta-analysis for the study using Bangpungtongsung-san and Taeeumjowi-tang to evaluate the effectiveness of herbal medicines on weight loss compared to placebo control. Both herbs showed positive effect in weight, body mass index and waist circumference. In an analysis comparing herbal effects considering constitutions showed that proper treatment can lower adverse events. Conclusions Our results provide evidence that herbal medicine can be an effective treatment for the obesity compare to placebo or to conventional medicine without serious adverse events. Further study is needed to evaluate effectiveness of herbal medicines considering personalized treatment and its safety. (J Korean Med Rehabil 2016;26(4):23-35)

Korean medicine registry of herbal medicine for weight loss

“…Supportive evidence has demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of HM for obesity compared with conventional medicine. [7][8][9][10][11] However, it is also reported that some herbal formulas are associated with several adverse events (AEs), [12,13] and in some cases, the government has imposed restrictions on the use of certain medicines because of safety concerns. [14] In Korea, because of the low insurance coverage for KM obesity treatments, including prescribed HM, information, such as the prescribed medication and its AEs in real clinical practice of KM treatment for obesity are scarce.…”

“…Korean medicine (KM) is recognized as the double axis of health care system of South Korea along with conventional western medicine. Supportive evidence has demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of HM for obesity compared with conventional medicine [7–11] . However, it is also reported that some herbal formulas are associated with several adverse events (AEs), [12,13] and in some cases, the government has imposed restrictions on the use of certain medicines because of safety concerns [14] .…”

The Anti-obesity Effects of Bangpungtongseong-san and Daesiho-tang: A Study Protocol of Randomized, Double-blinded Clinical Trial

“…한의 임상에서는 비만환자 치료 시 변증을 통 해 개인 맞춤형 치료를 시행한다는 점에서 정밀의학과 유 사한 성격을 띠고 있다 17) . 국내외에서 비만 치료에 대한 변 증 및 다양한 한약의 효과, 안전성, 부작용에 대한 기초 및 임상 연구들이 활발히 진행되어 왔다 [18][19][20][21][22] . 여러 2) 이차 유효성 평가변수…”

A bibliometric analysis of research on herbal medicine for obesity over the past 20 years

“…[ 7 ] Therefore, medical professionals and patients seek treatment with herbal medicine with few side effects as an alternative therapy for this medical challenge. [ 8 ] As this interest has increased, research on herbal medicines for obesity has been conducted in various aspects, such as drug extraction methods, [ 9 ] prescription types, [ 10 ] and dialectic methods, [ 11 ] as well as treatment effects and adverse effects. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to understand scientific research trends in the field of obesity and organize them systematically for more efficient research and development of treatments.…”