You may have seen the adverts for the weight loss-boosting benefits of Alli or Xenical, but according to a researcher from the University of Rhode Island, though these are the most popular forms of weight loss supplement, a low level of the drug can lead to irreversible consequences to your wellbeing.
Orlistat, of which Alli and Xenical are brands, in fact hinders your wellness as it inhibits a key enzyme that may lead to ‘severe toxicity of internal organs such as the liver and kidney.’ The study, led by Professor Bingfang Yan, also found that the drug limits the effectiveness of other medicines, particularly anti-cancer drugs. This led Yan to alert the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as publishing his results in the Biochemical Pharmacology journal.
According to Yan, Alli was approved as an over-the-counter medication in 2007, and is has been the most commonly used medicine to treat obesity for more than a decade. However, since its availability has increased, ‘there has been a drastic increase of toxicity among patients using the drug,’ Yan reports, and ‘It has been linked to severe liver failure, acute pancreatic failure and acute renal (kidney) failure.’
The way orlistat works is that it prevents the intestinal tract from absorbing fat into the body. Until now, it was accepted that the body does not absorb the drug, but it remains in the intestine. However, Yan says ‘orlistat is reportedly absorbed, and certainly internal organs such as the liver and kidney are exposed to this drug upon absorption’.
So what exactly happens? Orlistat potentially inhibits the enzyme carboxylesterase-2, which usually plays an important role in detoxifying your liver, kidney and gastrointestinal track. The enzyme also helps to metabolise many medicines, such as aspirin and cancer drugs, and so Yan warns ‘When the activity of this enzyme drop in those organs, toxicity increases or the efficacy of some drugs are altered’.
In fact, cancer cells turned out to be even more prolific when there was prior or current presence of orlistat in the body, yet in the case of aspirin, which is used sometimes as a blood thinner to treat blood clots, Yan admitted ‘Orlistat would increase the therapeutic potential of aspirin, which may increase the tendency of bleeding’. However and perhaps more importantly, ‘In the case of the anti-cancer drugs, it weakens their effectiveness.’
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