‘Thunder God Vine’ Plant provides help in Weight Loss: Study

A new study has found that Chinese 'thunder god vine' plant could be a potential obesity treatment. According to reports, the study was conducted on mice.

Researchers said during the study, obese mice were given high doses of the extract for about one week. The obese mice in the study ate about 80% less food after having high doses of the extract compared with mice who did not receive the extract. After about three weeks, the mice that were given the compound lost about 45% of their body weight, while the mice that were not given the compound did not lose any weight, as per the researchers.

While providing information on the matter, Dr. Eric Newman, a radiology resident at Jacobi Medical Center in New York, said that the compound worked well on mice, but it is still not clear whether it will work on humans. There are several things in humans that are different from mice, according to Newman, who was not part of the study.

According to the study, the compound helped the mice to lose weight. The effect of the compound that was observed during the study was greater than bariatric surgery in mice. Newman said that there are some limitations in the study, but still the compound has provided promising results, which could be beneficial in future.

The study stated that in addition to weight-loss, the compound provided help in decreasing the mice's cholesterol levels and could also provide help in improving liver function and metabolism of glucose.

Dr. Umut Ozcan, endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and author of the study, said, "If the results are confirmed in human studies, it could be a powerful way to treat obesity and improve the health of many patients suffering from obesity and associated complications, such as heart disease, fatty liver and type 2 diabetes".