THE USE OF PHYTOTHERAPY AS COADJUVANTS IN THE TREATMENT OF OBESITY

Resumen

The obesity has been defined as a chronic and multifactorial illness, occurring in the last years an increase in the incidence reaching a large part of the young population. The search for new perspectives for the treatment has made phytotherapy a great confederate as a coadjuvant in the treatment of obesity. The main goal of the present work was to get information about herbal medicines used as weight loss pills released for commercialization in the Brazilian market through a bibliographical review, aiming to highlight the benefits and risks of the most used herbal medicines. The article uses a qualitative research, developed through a descriptive approach on the use of phytotherapy as an aid in the treatment of obesity, using the Google Scholar databases, Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeHS) of Bireme, PUBMED, Science Direct and SCIELO. The few side effects and its low cost make phytotherapy more popular among people. The studies show that the consumption of this class of drugs, associated to the practice of physical exercises has a great increase in the breakdown of fat enzymes, with a decrease in body weight. The reduction of abdominal fat was one of the best responses. The green tea was considered the thermogenic herbal medicine best known and used by the population. It is important to emphasize the role of the pharmacist in guiding patients who use weight loss drugs in order to minimize the adverse effects caused by antiobesity drugs. It is concluded that the use of herbal medicines is safe as a coadjuvant in the treatment of obesity and in the reduction of body fat, associated with a balanced diet and the practice of physical activity.