Poor appetite

Hemp (Cannabis)

Cannabis sativa

Dronabinol is FDA-approved for loss of appetite with weight loss in HIV/AIDS; a 2015 JAMA meta-analysis rated the trial evidence for weight gain in HIV as low quality.

Cancer bush

Lessertia frutescens

A three-month randomised placebo-controlled safety trial in 25 healthy adults (800 mg/day leaf powder) found it well tolerated and noted improved appetite in the treated group.

Candelabra aloe

Aloe arborescens

The same syrup is indicated for loss of appetite; improvement was reported in about two-thirds of children in the uncontrolled study.

Satsuma

Citrus unshiu

The Kampo formula ninjin'yoeito, which contains chinpi, is used in Japan for loss of appetite and fatigue in people with cancer. In cell studies, nobiletin, hesperidin, limonene and linalool from the peel activated the orexin-1 receptor, which is involved in appetite; the peel itself has not been tested in people.

Bai zhu

Atractylodes macrocephala

Poor appetite from 'spleen deficiency' is a classic Chinese-medicine indication, usually in formulas such as Si jun zi tang.

Blessed thistle

Centaurea benedicta

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite, taken before meals. The bitter sesquiterpene lactone cnicin is thought to stimulate saliva and gastric juice reflexively, but EMA found no pharmacological or clinical studies demonstrating this.

Bogbean

Menyanthes trifoliata

EMA traditional use in temporary loss of appetite, taken 30 minutes before meals. The bitter secoiridoids are thought to act reflexively on digestive secretion; EMA found no clinical trials. German Commission E indications were dyspeptic complaints and loss of appetite.

Ceylon cinnamon

Cinnamomum verum

Loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints are listed in ESCOP and the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, as summarised by the EMA assessment; not tested in trials.

Chicory

Cichorium intybus

EMA also accepts traditional use for temporary loss of appetite. German Commission E approved the dried above-ground parts and/or root for dyspepsia and loss of appetite.

Chinese cassia

Cinnamomum cassia

Loss of appetite is part of the same WHO pharmacopoeial indication; no clinical trials are cited.

Codonopsis

Codonopsis pilosula

Used in Chinese medicine to 'strengthen the spleen' when appetite is poor, and in formulas such as Shen qi bai zhu tang for diarrhoea due to qi deficiency. Evidence is from animal studies on stomach and gut protection, not human trials.

Common centaury

Centaurium erythraea

EMA traditional-use indication for temporary loss of appetite. Handbooks describe it as a bitter that stimulates appetite and gastric secretion.

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite; WHO lists appetite stimulation among uses in well-established documents (Commission E).

Devil's claw

Harpagophytum procumbens

EMA recognises traditional use where there is temporary loss of appetite, based on long use of this very bitter root.

Fenugreek

Trigonella foenum-graecum

The EU herbal monograph accepts fenugreek seed as a traditional herbal medicine for temporary loss of appetite, on the strength of long use rather than trials. Commission E and the WHO monograph give the same indication.

Garden angelica

Angelica archangelica

Used as a bitter preparation, a class indicated for loss of appetite in Swiss integrative practice; untested in trials.

Ginger

Zingiber officinale

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite.

Great yellow gentian

Gentiana lutea

EMA registers gentian root as a traditional remedy for temporary loss of appetite; WHO lists it as an appetite stimulant during convalescence, based on pharmacopoeias rather than trials.

Greater burdock

Arctium lappa

EMA traditional-use indication for temporary loss of appetite; the German Drug Codex (DAC 2008) also records popular use for gastrointestinal complaints.

Horseradish

Armoracia rusticana

Recorded as an appetite stimulant in a 2026 survey of Lithuanian traditional medicine for digestive complaints.

Iceland moss

Cetraria islandica

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite; WHO also lists loss of appetite and nausea among uses described in pharmacopoeias.

Jamun

Syzygium cumini

Listed among traditional uses for loss of appetite; untested.

Japanese gentian

Gentiana scabra

Pharmacopoeias cited by WHO list it for lack of appetite; like other gentians it is intensely bitter (from gentiopicroside), but there are no clinical studies.

Javanese turmeric

Curcuma zanthorrhiza

Used in Indonesian jamu for lack of appetite, alongside stomach and liver complaints; not clinically tested.

Mandarin orange

Citrus reticulata

A component of Liujunzi / Rikkunshito, a qi-tonifying formula used across East Asia for poor appetite and digestive weakness.

Onion

Allium cepa

WHO, citing the 1986 German Commission E monograph, gives loss of appetite and prevention of age-related changes in blood vessels as the principal modern uses; these rest on long use and small studies rather than good trials.

Prince ginseng

Pseudostellaria heterophylla

A classic Chinese use is poor appetite with spleen deficiency. The root is an ingredient of commercial Chinese digestive products such as Jianwei Xiaoshi tablets. Not tested on its own.

Quinine tree

Cinchona officinalis

Commission E approved cinchona bark as a bitter for loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints such as bloating; this rests on long use rather than trials.

Scurvy grass

Cochlearia officinalis

Also recorded in Romanian folk medicine for lack of appetite in children. Untested.

Senburi

Swertia japonica

Described as used in Japan mainly as a digestive and appetite stimulant; the claim rests on tradition, not trials.

Sweet orange

Citrus x aurantium

Commission E approved bitter orange peel for loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints, on the basis of long use; it has not been assessed by the EMA.

White horehound

Marrubium vulgare

EMA traditional-use indication for temporary loss of appetite. The assessment report notes that bitter preparations raise saliva and gastric secretion, so a benefit can only be assumed in people with reduced gastric secretion.

White's ginger

Mondia whitei

The root is used as an appetiser and to improve appetite.

Wormwood

Artemisia absinthium

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite in adults, taken 30 minutes before meals.

Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

EMA traditional use for temporary loss of appetite, based on long-standing use rather than trials.