Natural Plant Products and their Bioactive Constituents in the Treatment of Obesity

Obesity and overweight are becoming increasingly common conditions throughout the world. It is a medical condition caused by size increase and the amount of fat cells in the body. Many factors contribute to obesity and overweight. Several bioactive molecules such as ginsenosides, oxysterols, resveratrol, carotenoids, especially xanthophylls and their derivatives, fucoxanthinol, and so on have shown potential anti-adipogenic and antiobesity effects. This chapter highlights the side effects caused by the usage of anti-obese drugs and complications caused by weight loss surgeries. An extensive literature survey is done on the importance of bioactive constituents from natural plant products like polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and saponins in the treatment of obesity and the mechanism by which these bioactive constituents display anti-obese action are being understood. This chapter also emphasizes on antiobesity properties of various carotenes, β-cryptoxanthin, fucoxanthin, and astaxanthin which are extensively studied for the suppression of obesity in several model systems.