Synergistic Drugs and Polyherbal Formulations for Obesity: Current Status and Future Prospectives

Obesity is a multifactorial disease that is characterised by excess body fat and enlarged adipose tissue. Obesity is closely associated with several noncommunicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, pulmonary arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, hypoventilation syndrome, different types of cancers, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases. The best preventive strategies for obesity are physical exercise, diet, and weight loss. Since this is not possible for all people, pharmacotherapy is required. The current therapy for obesity includes synthetic drugs and surgical procedures, which has high cost and many adverse effects. Hence the development of novel and natural drugs is necessary for the management of obesity. Numerous in vivo and in vitro investigations have proved that herbal medicine can ameliorate obesity, and those research findings include not only the individual plants but also different phytochemicals, extracts and polyhedral formulations. The inhibitory effects of different phytochemicals on the lipase enzyme activity, adipocyte differentiation, and promoting effects on energy expenditures and lipid metabolism are the different mechanisms that account for the management of obesity. So based on the previous research findings, researchers conclude that a synergistic drug which is formulated by combining potential medicinal herbs with a typical anti-obesity drug along with lifestyle modifications could ameliorate obesity and associated complications. This chapter summarises the current status and prospects of synergistic drugs and polyherbal formulations in the development of a safe and functional drug for the management of obesity.

Keywords: Lifestyle Modifications, Multifactorial Disease, Management of Obesity, Phytochemicals, Polyherbal Formulations, Synergistic Drug.