Plant-based nutraceuticals and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) as potential treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between The University of Buckingham (Biomedical Research), and Sibelius Natural Products (Sibelius Ltd., based in Oxford), extending their long-term collaboration and establishing a research/working group between the two parties that will focus on the development of medicinal plants’ bioactive molecules to support metabolic health.

There are many anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drugs are already available on the market. However, these synthetic drugs have many side effects related to cardiovascular health, increased risk of GI problems, hepatotoxicity, moderate or severe kidney disease, risk of hypoglycaemia, increased blood pressure, changes in hormonal secretion, and even higher risk of weight gain.

Due to these unwanted side effects, plant-based medicines and their bioactive molecules could represent a safe and efficient alternative for the development of new compounds as treatment of ‘diabesity’.

The established research/working group will make efforts to identify active medicinal plants and/or other NPs used in traditional medicine for the management of bodyweight gain and insulin resistance, investigating their active compounds through testing in target cells and animal models of obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as the subsequent clinical development of these materials as potential alternative treatments for metabolic diseases. Moreover, our collaboration will offer new avenues for plant-based drug discovery for other low-grade and oxidative stress-related diseases.

About The Clore Laboratory Biomedical Research

With a scientific research output of over 200 peer reviewed scientific publications and a track record in drug discovery, including obesity, and insulin sensitiser drugs, the Clore biomedical research group is internationally recognised in metabolic diseases, and other inflammation, and oxidative stress related diseases, with very strong expertise in in vitro, in vivo, and ex-vivo techniques.

The Laboratory research focus is encompassed by three themes combining basic research, drug discovery and pre-clinical expertise. The laboratory research interests are orientated towards drug discovery, particularly Natural Products (NPs) for diabetes and bodyweight management, by the identification and isolation of their bioactive molecules, the screening of their mechanism of action in target cells, and the investigation of their health benefits on whole body physiology.

With a long-standing academic, clinical, and pharmaceutical collaborations, the group is translating the key research themes into clinical studies and ultimately therapeutics.

About Sibelius Natural Products

Sibelius’ mission is to increase people’s health span and wellbeing by unlocking the potential of natural products by developing branded, scientifically evidenced and clinically proven natural ingredients for healthy ageing. The company uses its patented Chronoscreen™ platform to screen natural products to identify sources with robust biological activity to develop ingredients to serve the dietary supplements market.

After the successful sale of their product Sibelius™ : Sage, an aqueous ethanol extract of sage (Salvia officinalis) with clinical data supporting cognitive performance benefits in older adults, Sibelius looks to the future as they turn to develop the next-generation ingredients in their portfolio.