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SPANKING NEW KIWI TEA LEAVES OBESITY RATES ON THE DOWNTURN
Maybe not Māori Ozempic, but kawakawa gets clinical trial for obesity-fighting effects
Farha Ramzan grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas, given traditional medicines for everything from worms to chilblains. Now she’s unlocking the secrets of a rongoā found only in Aotearoa that could prevent obesity.
According to Dr. Farha Ramzan, inflammation and obesity have a complex, bidirectional relationship. While inflammation serves essential functions like aiding injury repair and supporting muscle development after exercise, persistent inflammation can trigger obesity, diabetes, and various other health conditions.
A potential solution to combat this obesity-promoting chronic inflammation might be found in a beverage already popular throughout New Zealand. Ramzan discussed her research with Stuff after receiving an $820,000 grant to investigate the possible weight-reduction properties of kawakawa—a plant with heart-shaped leaves native exclusively to Aotearoa.
Farha Ramzan, a senior research fellow at the University of Auckland, is researching kawakawa’s health benefits, a plant used in traditional Māori medicine. For centuries, Māori have utilized kawakawa as rongoā (traditional medicine), applying it to wounds and treating various conditions including toothaches and stomach discomfort. Today, it’s frequently consumed as a tea.
Ramzan received the Te Apārangi Royal Society Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship award to examine whether each cup of kawakawa tea contains potential weight-management benefits. The Liggins Institute researcher is developing a clinical trial in collaboration with Māori communities, partnering with the hapū organization Wakatū Incorporation from Te Tauihu in the South Island. Research findings will be shared with these Māori communities before academic publication.
This follows four years of smaller promising clinical studies on healthy individuals, but this larger trial would specifically include overweight or obese participants. “Because, whether we like it or not, New Zealand is right now one of the countries where obesity and overweight is on a very high, status … there are high levels of, high percentages of obese and overweight people.”
When asked if kawakawa could be considered a kind of Māori Ozempic—the diabetes medication now globally sought after for its weight-loss effects and popularized by celebrities—Ramzan laughed and responded, “I really can’t say anything about that to be honest, we are not doing it to see if there is weight loss or not.” She explained the trial would primarily focus on reducing chronic inflammation, “because that can aid in reducing the weight.”
She compared it to the Mediterranean diet with its olive oil content that helps decrease bodily inflammation.
“Inflammation… has been recognised as one of the major risk factors for obesity, being overweight, and then related cardiovascular and diabetes diseases. That’s why we are starting with inflammation.” Ramzan explained that if kawakawa can reduce inflammation, it could help prevent obesity. Since obesity contributes to conditions like heart disease and diabetes, “So, if we are able to prevent this phase, we should be able to prevent the later phases of the diseases from developing.”
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