A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial is carried out in 24 patients with obesity according to the body mass index.~Patients are assigned to two different arms: one group receives Momordica charantia, 2 capsules with 500 mg twice daily before breakfast and dinner for 12 weeks or placebo, under the same scheme of treatment.~Body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage and other clinical and laboratory parameters are evaluated.~This protocol is approved by a local ethics committee and written informed consent will be obtained from all volunteers.
Momordica charantia has shown to exert anti-obesity effects through numerous mechanisms of action described in preclinical studies. Important reductions in body weight and other anthropometric indicators have been reported in clinical trials. However, these beneficial effects of Momordica charantia on obesity have been observed mainly in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of Momordica charantia administration on anthropometric indicators in patients with obesity.