title: A review on the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs and formulae with hypolipidemic effect.
abstract: Hyperlipidemia, characterized by the abnormal blood lipid profiles, is one of the dominant factors of many chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). For the low cost, effectiveness, and fewer side effects, the popularity of using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to handle hyperlipidemia is increasing and its role in health care has been recognized by the public at large. Despite the importance of TCM herbs and formulations, there is no comprehensive review summarizing their scientific findings on handling hyperlipidemia. This review summarizes the recent experimental and clinical results of nine representative single Chinese herbs and seven classic TCM formulae that could improve lipid profiles so as to help understand and compare their underlying mechanisms. Most of single herbs and formulae demonstrated the improvement of hyperlipidemic conditions with multiple and diverse mechanisms of actions similar to conventional Western drugs in spite of their mild side effects. Due to increasing popularity of TCM, more extensive, well-designed preclinical and clinical trials on the potential synergistic and adverse side effects of herb-drug interactions as well as their mechanisms are warranted. Hyperlipidemic patients should be warned about the potential risks of herb-drug interactions, particularly those taking anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tung-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Sham
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong ; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China.
authors.forename: Chi-On
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: You-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Xuhui District Central Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai 200031, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Mei
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong ; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China.
authors.forename: Daniel Kam-Wah
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Mok
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong ; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China ; Food Safety and Technology Research Centre, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Shun-Wan
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents
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