Skip to main content
Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Pillser
Search
Sign UpLog In

Herbal medicines for suppressing appetite: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials.

  • 2019-04-25
  • Complementary therapies in medicine 44
    • Monirsadat Sahebkar-Khorasani
    • Lida Jarahi
    • Holger Cramer
    • Mohammad Safarian
    • Hamideh Naghedi-Baghdar
    • Roshanak Salari
    • Pardis Behravanrad
    • Hoda Azizi

Study Design

Type
Systematic Review
Sample size
n = 973
Population
healthy or obese or overweight individuals
Methods
Systematic review of 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; risk of bias assessed using Cochrane methodology
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.

Research Insights

  • Black Bean→Suppressed Appetite

    6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
  • Spinach→Suppressed Appetite

    6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
  • Yerba Mate→Suppressed Appetite

    6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
  • rye→Suppressed Appetite

    6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
  • white sorghum→Suppressed Appetite

    6 studies on Ilex paraguariensis, Spinacia oleracea, Phaseolus vulgaris, Secale cereale, Sorghum bicolor and Plantago showed short-term evidence for suppressing appetite.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Small
Back to top