Pancreatic lipase inhibitors from natural sources: unexplored potential

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate, but, unfortunately, only a few medications are currently on the market. Obesity is primarily regarded as a disorder of lipid metabolism and the enzymes involved in this process could be selectively targeted to develop antiobesity drugs. Recently, newer approaches for the treatment of obesity have involved inhibition of dietary triglyceride absorption via inhibition of pancreatic lipase (PL) as this is the major source of excess calories. Natural products provide a vast pool of PL inhibitors that can possibly be developed into clinical products. This article reviews various extracts and secondary metabolites from plants and microbial origin with PL inhibitory activity that can be focused for drug development programs.