Clinical studies on the hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of selected natural substances

The average blood levels of cholesterol and triacylglycerol in population are generally considered to be indicators of cardiovascular risk.

The aim of our study was to present representative data of selected fractions of blood lipids, and the trend of their levels during the last 35 years in the adult population of Slovakia.

This study demonstrates the risk of the elevated average cholesterolaemia and triacylglycerolaemia in men aged 35-39 years and above 60 years, as compared to womens' increased blood level that were detected only in the age group above 60 years. Strong gender differences in HDL-cholesterol were found, women having higher values than men, with these differences fading in the age group above 60 years. The results of two clinical studies present the hypolipemic effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in individuals with dyslipidaemia, the hypotriacylglycerolemic effect being dominant (p < 0.001). The hypocholesterolemic effect was less significant (p < 0.05) than in cases when lyophilized powder of the Pleurotus ostreatus was applied (p < 0.01). In both cases, a stabilizing effect on serum HDL-cholesterol had been observed. In case of polyunsaturated fatty acid n-3, its increase was borderline with statistical significance (p = 0.05).

The study emphasises the necessity of improving the average blood level of lipids in the population of Slovakia and the pertinence of using natural substances with a hypolipemic effect in secondary and even primary prevention of atherosclerosis and its serious complications (Tab. 3, Fig. 4, Ref. 27).