Screening of anti-obesity agent from herbal mixtures

Globally, one in three of the World's adults are overweight and one in 10 is obese. By 2015, World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of chubby adults will balloon to 2.3 billion--Equal to the combined populations of China, Europe and the United States. The discovery of bioactive compounds from herbs is one possible way to control obesity and to prevent or reduce the risks of developing various obesity-related diseases. In this study, we screened anti-obesity agents such as methyl gallate from the herbal composition known as HemoHIM that actively inhibits lipid formation as evidenced by Oil Red O staining and triglyceride (TG) contents in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, suggesting their use as an anti-obesity agent. Furthermore, the amount of glycerol released from cells into the medium had increased by treatment of methyl gallate in a concentration-dependent manner. The present study suggests that a promising anti-obesity agent like methyl gallate might be of therapeutic interest for the treatment of obesity.