It is estimated that more than 29% of South African men and 56% of women are overweight or obese (Goedecke et al., 2005). Obesity can be classified as a chronic disease, with a number of detrimental health consequences, including the risk of developing insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension (Beers et al., 2006). Conventional treatments for weight loss exist, but their use may be associated with unwanted side effects (Beers et al., 1999). While herbal medications are considered safer by many people, in general, studies of herbal medicinal products have been too few, of limited duration and small sample size (Mattsson and Nilsson, 2002). This indicates that further research into herbal weight loss treatments, with minimal or no side-effects, is required.