Description
Slimgal (Orlistat) 120 mg
Slimgal 120 mg is a branded medicine containing orlistat, a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor used for the management of obesity. It acts locally in the gut and has minimal systemic absorption.
Active Ingredient and Medicine Class
Active ingredient: orlistat.
Medicine class: anti-obesity medicine; pancreatic and gastric lipase inhibitor. By blocking fat-digesting enzymes in the intestine, it reduces the amount of dietary fat absorbed.
Established Medical Uses
Orlistat is used as an adjunct to dietary management for weight loss and weight maintenance in people with obesity, and in some patients with overweight who have weight-related risk factors. Clinical trials and reviews show that it produces greater weight loss than diet alone, with modest improvements in some cardiometabolic measures.
How It Works
Orlistat acts in the stomach and small intestine by inhibiting lipases, the enzymes that break down dietary fat. As a result, part of the fat in food is not digested and is passed out of the body. This effect also explains many of its gastrointestinal effects.
Important Safety Information
Orlistat is contraindicated in pregnancy, chronic malabsorption syndrome, cholestasis, and in patients with known hypersensitivity to orlistat or any component of the product.
Important interactions include cyclosporine, levothyroxine, warfarin, amiodarone, some antiepileptic drugs, and some antiretroviral drugs. Orlistat can reduce absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and beta-carotene.
Regulatory labeling also warns about rare but serious liver injury and oxalate-related kidney injury.
Possible Side Effects
The most common adverse effects are gastrointestinal, including oily or fatty stools, diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort, and faecal spotting. These effects are typically related to the medicine’s mechanism of reducing fat absorption.
Less common but important reactions include reduced vitamin absorption, gallstones associated with weight loss, severe liver injury, and kidney problems related to oxalate.
Scientific Evidence
Randomised trials and systematic reviews have shown that orlistat 120 mg improves weight loss and helps reduce weight regain over 1 to 2 years compared with placebo, especially when combined with dietary intervention. Some studies also reported modest improvements in LDL cholesterol, glucose, and insulin-related measures. Gastrointestinal adverse events were more frequent than with placebo.
Medical Information Notice
This page is an educational summary based on sources available at the time of review. It does not replace the official patient leaflet, prescribing information, or assessment by a qualified healthcare professional.
Medical Sources
- DailyMed / U.S. prescribing information: ORLISTAT capsule. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setId=f81dfaeb-46d5-47ce-9ef6-19259f5ac61c
- FDA label: XENICAL (orlistat) Capsules, for oral use — Highlights of Prescribing Information. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2022/020766s038lbl.pdf
- Published scientific review: H. L. McNeely et al., “Orlistat: a review of its use in the management of obesity,” Drugs, 1999. PubMed article
