Summary: In a 90-day placebo-controlled trial in obese adults, a Cyperus rotundus extract with piperine, added to diet and exercise, reduced body weight, BMI, and waist and hip circumference, and improved lipid profile and ApoB-100, with no reported adverse events.
PICO Summary
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population | 96 obese adults; 90-day randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, India (industry-funded by the extract manufacturer). |
| Intervention | 500 mg Cyperus rotundus extract (standardised to 6–8% stilbenes) plus 5 mg piperine, twice daily, with prescribed diet and exercise. |
| Comparison | Matching placebo twice daily with the same diet and exercise guidance. |
| Outcome | The extract group had significantly greater reductions in body weight, BMI, and waist and hip circumference than placebo, with improvements in serum lipid profile and Apolipoprotein B-100. No adverse events were reported and laboratory parameters stayed within normal ranges. |
Cyperus rotundus + piperine for weight loss
RCT · obese adults · 90 days
Over 90 days, CRE with piperine added to diet and exercise cut body weight by 7.1% versus 2.6% on placebo, with 89.5% of the extract group reaching clinically meaningful 5% loss. The result is promising but manufacturer-funded and short-term, so it needs independent replication.
Expert Commentary
This is a reasonably designed supplement trial with an appropriate use case, since both arms received diet and exercise and the extract was tested as an adjunct rather than a replacement, which is the honest way to study a weight-management supplement. The signal is coherent, with reductions in weight and central adiposity plus a favourable shift in lipids and ApoB, and the stilbene chemistry, structurally related to resveratrol, gives a plausible metabolic rationale. The caveat that should travel prominently with these results is the sponsorship: the trial was funded and conducted by the extract’s manufacturer, which is a recognised source of bias in supplement research and warrants independent replication before confidence. Other limits include a 90-day window that cannot establish durability or long-term safety, a modest sample, unverified diet and exercise adherence, and a proprietary formulation that may not match commercial products of variable quality. Piperine can also alter cytochrome P450 drug metabolism. Can I use this with my patients? Cautiously and non-committally. For a patient determined to try a natural adjunct alongside genuine lifestyle change, this is a low-risk option over the short term, but I would be candid about the industry funding and the lack of independent, long-term data, and would keep proven approaches central.
References
Majeed A, Majeed S, Devarajan TV, et al. Efficacy and safety of Cyperus rotundus extract on weight management in obese individuals: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2025;104(47):e45666. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000045666