A method for the identification of a composition useful in the treatment of an overweight or obese person to reduce the person's body mass index is provided which comprises obtaining an extract of an ethnobotanical plant, and evaluating the activity of the extract in an assay selected from the group consisting of a lipolysis assay, an assay that measures the amount of glycerol introduced by a cell into a suspension medium of the cell, an adipocyte differentiation assay, an assay that measures the level of the enzyme glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, an assay that measures the inhibition of differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes, an assay that measures the accumulation of lipid in an adipocyte, an assay that measures the de-differentiation of adipocytes into preadipocytes, and combinations thereof. Sclareol and sclareol-like compounds and sclareolide and sclareolide-like compounds are identified as useful in the treatment of overweight and obese conditions and disorders and conditions associated with adipose tissue abnormalities. These compounds can be formulated for oral administration.