What is Orlistat?
Orlistat is a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor also known as tetrahydrolipstatin. It is designed to treat obesity by preventing the absorption of fats in diets and thereby reducing caloric intake. It works by inhibiting gastric and pancreatic lipases, the enzymes that break down triglycerides in the intestine. When lipase activity is blocked, triglycerides from the diet are not hydrolyzed into absorbable free fatty acids and the human body excretes them undigested instead. Marketed by Roche Pharmaceuticals as the prescription drug Xenical (Orlistat 120 mg, approved by the FDA in 1999) and by GlaxoSmithKline as the OTC drug Alli (Orlistat 60 mg, approved by the FDA in 2007), Orlistat is are available in over 100 countries. Reports of liver toxicity The FDA said it has received 32 reports of liver toxicity in patients using Oristat drugs from 1999 to 2008. Twenty seven of those reports involved patients who were hospitalized due to serious side effects and at least six involved patients
