Investigations of Botanicals on Food Intake, Satiety, Weight Loss, and Oxidative Stress

Despite widespread efforts to improve the treatment of obesity, only limited progress has been made. Calorie restriction (CR) has consistently been shown to produce weight loss, as well as delay the onset of age-related diseases, in numerous species. Most overweight individuals, however, are unable to sustain CR induced weight losses, possibly due to internal feedback systems that signal the body to increase food intake or decrease energy expenditure in response to weight loss. Novel treatment approaches are thus urgently needed that can assist overweight individuals in adhering to a CR regimen over the long-term. Botanicals represent an important and underexplored source of potential new therapies that may facilitate CR. In particular, one promising botanical that may reduce food intake and body weight by affecting neuroendocrine pathways related to satiety is Garcinia Cambogia (Garcinia Cambogia Desr.)-derived (-)-hydroxycitric acid. This compound has been found to facilitate weight loss in a number of studies. To date, few studies have directly tested the effect that this botanical on food intake in humans, its mechanism of action, or its effect on oxidative stress levels; thus rigorous scientific studies on this compounds need to be conducted. A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study will be conducted to explore the role that two different doses of this botanical compound have on food intake, satiety, weight loss, and oxidative stress levels. It is hypothesized that compared to placebo, both doses of Garcinia Cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) will reduce food intake, increase satiety, decrease weight, and reduce oxidative stress levels.