Adiponectin is a hormone that is secreted by fat cells. It is different than most other hormones in that the production of the hormone falls as the number of fat cells increases. Levels of the hormone are inversely correlated with body fat percentage. So, the higher the adiponectin levels, the lower the body fat percentage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12611609

Adiponectin increases insulin sensitivity by increasing tissue fat oxidation, resulting in reduced circulating fatty acid levels and reduced intracellular triglyceride contents in liver and muscle. This protein also suppresses the expression of adhesion molecules in vascular endothelial cells and cytokine production from macrophages, thus inhibiting the inflammatory processes that occur during the early phases of atherosclerosis.

Wow! That’s a pretty cool hormone for weight loss. Yes, people are working on synthetic small molecule agonists for it. There will likely be a huge market for it as the side effects seem tolerable, especially since it extends life span in mice that are genetically predisposed to be obese.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24172895

Moreover, AdipoRon ameliorated diabetes of genetically obese rodent model db/db mice, and prolonged the shortened lifespan of db/db mice on a high-fat diet. Thus, orally active AdipoR agonists such as AdipoRon are a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

I always wonder: Is there anything herbal that does anything with adiponectin? Ginseng has some benefits:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25311947

Ginsenoside Rb1 stimulates adiponectin signaling in C2C12 muscle cells through up-regulation of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 proteins.
…
These results suggest that ginsenoside Rb1 promote translocations of GLUT4 by activating the adiponectin signaling pathway. The results can be helpful in understanding the novel antidiabetic mechanism of Rb1 ginsenoside and gain further support for its use as an antidiabetic drug.

Curcumin too:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24445038

The compound contains anti-inflammatory activity, which is mediated through an up-regulation of adiponectin and reduction of leptin.

Anyway, this is certainly an interesting area for exploration as far as weight loss is concerned.