Containing an extract from an Indian cactus, it is achieving incredible test results with dieters, who find they simply don't feel like eating.

They say they've been getting great health gains with no pain, and watching the weight melt away.

There are plenty of ways to lose weight, but one works for sure - eating less.

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Now a clinical trial has revealed a mysterious plant extract from a cactus grown in India called Caralluma Fimbrata could help you achieve your weight loss goal by making you do just that.

Dr Michael Mathai from Victoria University tested the effects the extract, combined with a healthy diet, had on 30 obese and overweight people over a period of twelve weeks.

“It helps you lose the fat content around your waist, as measured by waist circumference,” Dr Mathai said.

36-year-old Dean Mammo has been battling his food demons for a decade without success. Three months ago, weighing 100 kilograms, he added the plant extract to his diet, and the results he says speak for themselves.

He's dropped thirteen kilograms, and says “I still eat three meals a day - three big meals a day, but when I am hungry I tend to eat healthy food, so the biggest thing that they've done is stopped me from snacking between meals.”

Dr Mathai says the group on the extract reported less cravings and greater control when it came to food.

“Traditionally it's used to reduce the sensation of hunger when there isn't food available. And we are hoping that translates in our setting, where there is food available, into not needing to eat as much.”

But the effects didn't transfer to the scales. The average weight loss of both groups was just two kilograms each, with both groups losing, on average, the same amount of weight.

Where Caralluma Fimbrata did make a difference was to the waistline. While not weighing less, the group taking the suppressant became thinner, on average by six centimetres around the waist.

The waistline's of those in the control group only reduced by two centimetres.

“How this might work is that by reducing fat mass around the waist you may get an increase in lean mass elsewhere, or a simple re-distribution of fat,” Dr Mathai said.

That's not all bad news, because reducing belly fat also reduces the risk of diabetes and blood pressure issues.

It's important to note that the groups in the trial were also given dietary and lifestyle advice from the University’s nutritionists.

Perhaps it was also just taking part in the twelve week trial that was enough to get all the participants on the weight loss path, suppressant on board or not.

According to dietician Melanie McGrice, there are no easy ways out when it comes to weight loss.

“I would say it's not going to be a magic bullet - you want to be making sure that you are making long term changes.

“I think it is fantastic if people use something to help motivate them, but really in the big picture, it is only going to be a small amount of weight loss, and they need to be making long term, substantial changes.

“The best way to do that is to do it under the guidance of a health professional,” McGrice said.

The trial team are now turning their attention to how the extract may help children with Prader–Willi, a syndrome that makes sufferers continually crave food.

“This will be a world first, if we can find an appetite suppressant for people with Prader–Willi syndrome that will make a huge difference,” Jo Griggs, the mother of a little girl suffering from the condition, said.

• Caralluma fimbriata study details - www.anzctr.org.au
• Swisse - www.swisse.com