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Obesity is primarily considered to be a disorder of energy balance, and it has recently been suggested that some forms of obesity are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. There are anti-obesity drugs, affecting the fundamental processes of the weight regulation; however they have shown serious side effects, which outweigh their beneficial effects. Alternatively, dietary phytochemicals and natural health products offer great potential as an efficient weight loss strategy by modulating lipid metabolism and/or increasing BMR and thermogenesis. Specifically, Polyphenols such as Chlorogenic acid, Ferulic acid, Gallic acid, Cinnamaldehyde, Curcumin, Naringin, Quercetin, Capsaicin and Caffeine have been reported to increase lipolysis and induce fatty acid β-oxidation through modulation of genes. In this review article, we discuss selected phytochemicals and medicinal plants in relation to their integrated functionalities and specific mechanisms for weight loss.

Key words: Obesity, low-grade inflammation, anti-obesity drugs, phytochemicals, medicinal plants.