EVALUATION OF ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC ACTIVITY OF HERBAL MEDICINE AND ITS COMPARISON WITH ROSUVASTATIN

Abstract

Background: Antihyperlipidemic drugs have been to decreased serum lipid levels in hyperlipidaemic patients and predisposes the patients to various drug related adverse reactions, along with that there are also chance of development of drug resistance. Allium sativum, Cinnamomum verum, Terminalia arjuna, Fenugreek, and Zingiber officinale have shown antihyperlipidemic activity alone whereas effects of combination of these on hyperlipidemia have yet to be assessed. Objective: To evaluation the antihyperlipidemic activity of herbal medicine and it’s comparison with rosuvastatin Methodology: An open labelled parallel arms clinical trial was conducted at Department of Pharmacology, HCMD, Karachi. Patients ageing between 35–65 years of any gender, having central obesity (waist circumference with ethnicity specific), and deranged lipid profile were included as per calculated sample size (200). The exclusion criteria was lactating and pregnant females, patients with other chronic diseases. Patients were split into two groups 100 patients per group based on their treatment. In Group A, Tab. Telmisartan 80 mg and Tab. Rosuvastatin 10 mg once daily for 12 weeks was prescribed. Patients in Group B were given a 500mg polyherbal capsule containing Allium sativum, Cinnamomum verum, Terminalia arjuna, Fenugreek, and Zingiber officinale two times a day for 12 weeks. BMI calculation, Waist/Hip Ratio, Blood pressure (Systolic and Diastolic), Lipid profile (Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, TGs), Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured after the intervention. The written informed consent was taken, and the study was approved from IRB of the institute. SPSS version 27 was used to analyze the data. Results: The mean age of the study participants in group A was 53.96 and group B was 52.42 years (p = 0.312). The comparison of systolic and diastolic blood pressure from day 0 to day 90 showed an insignificant difference between the herbal treatment and allopathic medicine treated group. The serum cholesterol (SC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TGD) didn’t show significant difference between the groups. The SC, LDL, and TGD levels decreased to normal range and HDL levels increased however the potency of both the treatment methods remains equally potential in managing lipid profile. The BMI and WHR showed a significant decrease in herbal treatment group when compared to allopathic group. ALT and AST also showed significant decrease in herbal treatment group ensuring its safety concerns when compared to conventional therapy. Conclusion: The combination of Allium sativum, Cinnamomum verum, Terminalia arjuna, Fenugreek, and Zingiber officinale showed comparable effects in managing the lipid profile of the patients when compared to rosuvastatin. The herbal combination showed a superior activity in decreasing BMI and waist hip ratio of the patients.