A comparative study of antioxidant vitamins and simvastatin in hypercholesterolimic rabbits

The anti-lipidemic effects of orally administered antioxidant vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E) individually and in combination were studied in cholesterol-fed rabbits and compared to the group of hypercholesterolemic animals that were treated with simvastatin. All treatment groups exhibited a decrease in serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides concentrations, whilst vitamin C, vitamin E, the combination and simvastatin showed a more profound decrease in the lipid profile than vitamin A at different time intervals. The order of increase in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels remained in favour of simvastatin, as none of the antioxidant vitamins treated group could exhibit a profound increase in the HDL-C.