Pharmacognostic Evaluation of Herbal Medicines Used for Obesity on Isfahan Traditional Medicine Market

Overweight and obesity have become a major public health issue due to a steep rise in the prevalence of overweight. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for many diseases, including cardiovascular problems, diabetes, andhypertension. Because of inappropriate diet, lack of adequate physical activity, andsedentary life style; people use medical treatments to lose weight. Herbal medicines havebeen gaining considerable popularity in recent years. Given the increasing popularity ofherbal medicines for treatment of obesity in Iran, there is a need to evaluate theseproducts, which are traditionally provided. Ten herbal products used for obesity on Isfahan traditional medicine market were collected, their medical information was recorded, and then the drugs weremicroscopically and macroscopically evaluated. Finally, their therapeutic effects werecompared with the indications mentioned in traditional medicine texts. More than 50% of the products contained at least one medicinal plant, which has been used traditionally for treatment of obesity. The providers of traditional medicines should receive required trainings according to texts of traditional medicine. Moreover, they should be continuouslymonitored and the traditional medicine products continuously undergo pharmacognostictesting.