title: Antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant effects of the mixture of ginseng radix and crataegi fructus: experimental study and preliminary clinical results.
abstract: The mixture of Ginseng Radix and Crataegi Fructus (Gen-CF) was developed to increase the pharmacological effect of ginseng in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and prevention of cardiovascular disease. This study evaluated the effects of Gen-CF on serum lipids of hypercholesterolemic rats in vivo, as well as its antioxidant activities in vitro, and explored its clinical effects on patients with hypercholesterolemia. In vitro, Gen-CF displayed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrasyl and superoxide radical scavenging activities, and inhibited hemolysis induced by 2,2'-azobis-2-amidinopropane dihydrochloride in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, Gen-CF significantly inhibited the increases of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride in high cholesterol-diet and Triton WR-1339 models. It also significantly inhibited the decrease of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in these models. In the clinical trial, Gen-CF significantly lowered total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, total lipid and phospholipid, with no adverse events, including hepatic or renal toxicity. The data suggest that Gen-CF has the potential to treat hypercholesterolemia and prevent cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases, Kyung Hee University College of Oriental Medicine, Seoul 130-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang-Nam
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Seong-Uk
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Gyu-Tae
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Woo-Sang
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Sang-Kwan
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Jung-Mi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ki-Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Cho
keywords: Antioxidants; Cardiovascular diseases; Hypercholesterolemia; Panax ginseng