Objective: Obesity is a complex chronic metabolic disorder and a major global health concern, serving as a significant risk factor for insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, while also imposing severe psychological impacts such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Conventional treatments often have limited efficacy and tolerability due to severe side effects. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of five essential oils—bergamot, orange, lemon, peppermint, and ginger—in the treatment of obesity using a systems biology approach.
Methods: A systems biology framework was employed to analyze the multi-target molecular interactions and signaling pathways modulated by the selected essential oils, focusing on their potential roles in metabolic regulation and obesity-related pathophysiology.
Results: The systems biology analysis revealed that these essential oils interact with multiple overlapping biological pathways involved in lipid metabolism, adipogenesis, and inflammatory responses. The integrative network modeling highlighted key regulatory nodes that may mediate their anti-obesity effects, providing a mechanistic basis for their previously observed efficacy in weight management.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that aromatherapy using bergamot, orange, lemon, peppermint, and ginger essential oils represents a potentially safe, multi-targeted adjunctive strategy for obesity prevention and treatment. The identified molecular pathways offer promising targets for future experimental validation and clinical translation, though the computational nature of this study necessitates further in vivo and in vitro confirmation.