Impact of lemongrass oil, an essential oil, on serum cholesterol.
To test the hypothesis that non-sterol mevalonate pathway end products lower serum cholesterol levels, we asked 22 hypercholesterolemic subjects (315 +/- 9 mg cholesterol/dl) to take a daily capsule containing 140 mg of lemongrass oil, an essential oil rich in geraniol and citral. The paired difference in serum cholesterol levels of subjects completing the 90-day study approached significance (P less than 0.06, 2-tailed t-test). The subjects segregated into two groups, one consisting of 14 subjects resistant to the protocol and the other consisting of 8 subjects who responded. Paired differences in cholesterol level at 30, 60 and 90 d for resistant subjects were +2 +/- 6, +2 +/- 7 and -1 +/- 6 mg/dl; paired differences for the responding subjects were -25 +/- 10 (p less than 0.05), -33 +/- 8 (p less than 0.01) and -38 +/- 10 (p less than 0.025), respectively. The paired difference (+8 +/- 4) in the cholesterol levels of six responders 90 days after the discontinuation of lemongrass oil was not significant.
Elson
C E
CE
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.
Underbakke
G L
GL
Hanson
P
P
Shrago
E
E
Wainberg
R H
RH
Qureshi
A A
AA
D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013729:Terpenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils; D013729:Terpenes; D014280:Triglycerides; C052901:lemongrass oil; D002784:Cholesterol