GEORGE TOWN, Feb 28 — Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has invented an anti-obesity herbal formula from labisia pumila (kacip fatimah), a local herb widely used for women’s health.

Vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Omar Osman told reporters here today that the product was developed by a team of researchers from the university’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The team was comprised of Prof Dr Zhari Ismail, Dr Beh Hooi Kheng, Gheniya Ghaffar, Abdul Hakeem Memon, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Saeed, Mohd Shahrul Ridzuan Hamil and Suzana Hashim.

According to Prof Dr Zhari, the prototype capsule, named Labeesity, is a nano formulated standardised extract of kacip fatimah with a dose of 250 mg/kg.

He said rats treated with the formula have shown a significant reduction in the percentage of their body weight, body mass index (BMI) and visceral fat in comparison to the high-fat diet control group.

“The research on Labeesity took two years and was completed in June last year. The product has undergone lab test and is currently at pre-clinical and clinical studies.

“A local company has signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) to market the product and we expect the commercialisation to take a month or two,” he said.

Prof Dr Zhari added that the commercialisation process would also depend on the company obtaining grants for clinical trials before the product is made available to consumers.

He said Labeesity could help suppress appetite, control the accumulation of fat and protect against fatty liver disease.

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Omar noted that obesity and being overweight was not only a problem for adults but also children in Malaysia.

He said it was a global health issue which affected a wide spectrum of the population. — Bernama