Artichoke, the Anti Hypercholesterolemia Herbal Remedy with No Side Effects, Scientists Find

By Kyle J. Norton

Scientists may have found a herbal remedy for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia with no side effects, according to studies.

Cholesterol, a waxy substance produced by the liver plays a critical role in making hormones, vitamin D, building a strong cell membrane and digestive fluids. However, overexpression of cholesterol has been found to induce high blood pressure and heart diseases.

Not all cholesterols are bad, high-density lipoprotein, the type of cholesterol which returns the cholesterol back to the liver are constantly keeping the bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) in check.

The healthy ratio of total cholesterol is 4 (LDL)/1 (HDL) or lower.

Hypercholesterolemia is a medical condition of abnormally high cholesterol levels in the blood compared to hyperlipidemia which is considered a syndrome of abnormally elevated levels of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood.

People with high blood cholesterol do not experience any symptom. However, the condition has been found to associate with the increased risk of heart diseases and stroke. particularly, atherosclerosis.

Where atherosclerosis is a disease involved the accumulation of plaque on the arterial wall, leading to arterial blockage in facilitating cardiovascular diseases, depending on the location of the blockage.

Although there are many risk factors associated with the onset of high blood cholesterol, some researchers an unhealthy diet is one of the major risk factors that cause hypercholesterolemia in North America.

Dr. Joan Carles Escola`-Gil, the lead scientist in the evaluation of the Western diet risk of hypercholesterolemia in mice wrote, ". Unlike a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, the A high–saturated fatty acid– and cholesterol-containing (HFHC) diet increased liver ABCG5/G8 expression. The effect of the HFHC diet on fecal macrophage-derived [3 H]cholesterol excretion was totally blunted in ABCG5/G8-deficient mice".

The results strongly suggested that if you follow the diet rich in high–saturated fatty acid–and cholesterol, your risk of hypercholesterolemia is increased many folds, compared to healthy adults with a traditional diet.

According to medical analysis, hypercholesterolemia is a form of hyperlipidemia, high blood lipids, and hyperlipoproteinemia.

Artichoke is a perennial thistle of Cynara cardunculus species of the Cynara genus, belonging to the family Carduoideae native to Southern Europe around the Mediterranean.

The herbal plant has been used in traditional medicine for as liver protective and detoxified agent, and to treat digestive disorders, abdominal pain gas and bloating, etc.


Scientists on finding a natural ingredient for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, compared the effects of well-established antiatherosclerotic drug atorvastatin (CAS number 134523-00-5) and commercially available artichoke leaf tincture (ALTINC) in an animal model.

The selected animal in the study was divided into five groups:

* The group I (the control group of rats fed with standard diet during 11 weeks), and the remaining 4 groups of rats (II, III, IV, and V) fed with standard diet during the first week and then with hypercholesterolemic diet during the next 10 weeks. 

*The group II of rats were left without treatment, while in the groups III, IV, and V were rats treated per os with atorvastatin (1.15 mg/kg body weight--b.w.), ALTINC (0.1 mL/kg b.w.) and their combination in same doses, respectively, for the last six weeks.

During the experiment, group IV treated ALTINC exerted a significant effect against the abdominal aorta wall thickness and parameters of oxidative stress induced by a high-fat diet, observed by the oxidative stress markers.

Rat treated with ALTINC also enhanced the production of antioxidant enzymes by the host that was suppressed by the high-fat diet feeding in the inhibition of lipid peroxidation, the condition was found to be associated with patients with hypercholesterolemia.

The results suggested the artichoke leaf tincture is a very potent antioxidant with beneficial effects in the early stages of atherosclerosis by reducing the overexpression cholesterol associated with plaque accumulated on the arterial wall.

In order to know more information about artichoke antihypercholesterolaemic effects, researchers examined the artichoke leaf extract (ALE) in lowering the levels of blood cholesterol.

By searching the databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library) (2012, Issue 5); MEDLINE Ovid (1966 to May Week 2, 2012); EMBASE Ovid (1980 to 2012 Week 19); and CINAHL Ebsco (1982 to May 2012) on 17 May 2012, researchers selected 3 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for the review./

In the first trial, the total cholesterol level in participants receiving ALE decreased by 4.2% from 7.16 (0.62) mmol/L to 6.86 (0.68) mmol/L after 12 weeks, compared to the increase from 6.90 (0.49) mmol/L to 7.04 (0.61) mmol/L in patients receiving placebo.

In the second trial, ALE reduced total cholesterol levels by 18.5% from 7.74 mmol/L to 6.31 mmol/L after 42 ± 3 days of treatment, whereas placebo reduced cholesterol by 8.6% from 7.69 mmol/L to 7.03 mmol/L.

The third trial stated that ALE significantly reduced blood cholesterol compared with placebo in a subgroup of patients with baseline total cholesterol levels of more than 230 mg/dL.

The review strongly suggested artichoke may process a potential for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia with no side effects.

Taken altogether, artichoke may be considered a functional remedy for the prevention and treatment of high blood cholesterol, pending to the reconfirmation of large sample size and multicenter human study.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.


hypercholesterolemia
(1) Effects of atorvastatin and artichoke leaf tincture on oxidative stress in hypercholesterolemic rats by Crevar-Sakac M, Vujić Z, Kotur-Stevuljević J, Ivanisević J, Jelić-Ivanović Z, Milenković M, Markelić M, Vujcić Z. (PubMed)
(2) Artichoke leaf extract for treating hypercholesterolaemia by Wider B1, Pittler MH, Thompson-Coon J, Ernst E. (PubMed)
(3) The Cholesterol Content of Western Diets Plays a Major Role in the Paradoxical Increase in High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Upregulates the Macrophage Reverse Cholesterol Transport Pathway by Joan Carles Escola`-Gil, Gemma Llaverias, Josep Julve, Matti Jauhiainen, Jesu´s Me´ndez-Gonza´lez, Francisco Blanco-Vaca