Northern Region News October 23, 2008 17:51 PM New Hope For Obese People PENANG, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has made a discovery that herbal extracts from pipersarmentosum or better known as "pokok kaduk" locally, can help tackle obesity. Prof. Zhari Ismail, from USM's Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty, said research on the plant, which can easily be found in the wild, began in 2005 culminating in the formulation of an anti-obesity product named Nobesiti. "Basically the product helps slow the growth rate of blood vessels, which in turn causes less fat to build up in the body," he told reporters when introducing Nobesiti at USM here, Thursday. He said the product was non-toxic and had passed all toxicity tests. He added that the university was now seeking suitable investors or entreprenuers to put the product on the global market. -- BERNAMA