title: Hypocholesterolemic efficacy of royal jelly in healthy mild hypercholesterolemic adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Royal jelly (RJ) has been reported for its health promoting factors such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipid lowering activities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present randomized, placebo-controlled study examines the hypolipidemic beneficial effect of RJ through evaluating anthropometric measurements, lipid profile and various hormone levels in mildly hypercholesterolemic participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty subjects with mild hypercholesterolemia (180-200 mg/dL) were randomly selected and divided into two groups as experimental or placebo, who requested to intake nine capsules (350 mg/capsule) of RJ or placebo/day, respectively, for three months with one month of follow-up without any supplementation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant changes were noted in any of the anthropometric parameters like body weight, waist and body fat. The serum total cholesterol (TC; 207.05-183.15 mg/dL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c; 126.44-120.31 mg/dL) levels were reduced significantly (p < 0.05) after administration of RJ. However, triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels were not considerably altered. Moreover, three months of RJ consumption significantly ameliorated (p < 0.05) the concentration of sex hormones like dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S; 1788.09-1992.31 ng/mL). Also, intake of RJ did not elicit any hepatic or renal damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intervention with RJ for three months considerably lowered the TC and LDL-c levels through improving the levels of DHEA-S and thus alleviates the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chinese Medicine , Taichung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Well-being , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Hui-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: b School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Bo-Kai
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: c Department of Neurology , Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yan-Ying
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: b School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yi-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: d School of Health Diet and Industry Management, Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: You-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: b School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Kamesh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Venkatakrishnan
authors.affiliation: e ITMO University , Saint-Petersburg , Russia.
authors.forename: Oksana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Golovinskaia
authors.affiliation: b School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University , Taichung City , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chin-Kun
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D014280:Triglycerides; D000099219:Royal Jelly
keywords: Lipids; cardiovascular disease; dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate; hypercholesterolemia; royal jelly