PETALING JAYA, Sept 11 — Local entrepreneur Hanis Zalikha is feeling the heat from social media users after several people raised doubts about one of her products.

In an Instagram post, the Cakenis managing director claimed that her latest offering, known as the Cakenis Petite Oil, could act as an appetite suppressant in addition to reducing the appearance of stretch marks.

Several Twitter users immediately questioned the science behind such a claim and a few of them even tagged popular UK-based trainee surgeon Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri to seek her opinion.

Others slammed Hanis for allegedly exploiting her large online following by selling them an overpriced item with dubious benefits.

Dr Nur Amalina later responded on Twitter saying there was no strong evidence to support a link between weight loss management and the usage of essential oils, adding that most of the research had been conducted on animals and not humans.

A post on the official Cakenis Instagram later clarified that the essential oil was never meant to be a weight-loss tool by itself and reiterated that it only helps to curb food cravings, though it did not go into further detail about how it was meant to do so.

"Cakenis Petite Oil is not a weight-loss tool on its own, and it can never be.

"The three main active ingredients (peppermint, lavender, rosa seed oil) only help manage your cravings (which must, of course, come with healthy eating) and reduce the appearance of stretch marks.

"If you’re new to essential oils, there are plenty of studies and research that weigh the effectiveness and possible risks you can look into, and decide for yourself if it’s something you want to adopt in your lifestyle,” read the post.