LUCKNOW: Given the faulty eating habits and sedentary lifestyles prevalent today, obesity has emerged as a major cause for various degenerative diseases and organ dysfunctionality.

Scientists involved in drug discovery are looking at different drug candidates to fight the burgeoning flab. On the second day of the second international symposium on 'Current Trends in Drug Discovery Research', Dr I Ahnfelt Ronne from Denmark dwelt at length on 'Gherlin physiology and pharmacology'. He explained that the Gherlin growth hormone plays an important role in reducing obesity.

Later, Dr Deborah Kyio from the World Health Organisation spoke about good manufacturing and good laboratory practices in biomedical research and the drug research programme conducted by WHO.

Dr A Surolia presented a paper on exploring fatty acid synthesis, which can be used as a possible anti-malarial. He said that fatty acids found in the malarial parasite are different from those found in humans and this can be used to curb malaria in India.