Hypolipidemic effect of Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi) and Terminalia arjuna (Arjuna): An in vitro study

Background: High cholesterol is the sixth-highest risk factor for death in the globe. Herbal medications regularly complement modern medical care, especially by providing safe and well-tolerated therapies for chronic conditions. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare cholesterol lowering effects of Terminalia arjuna bark and Bacopa monnieri leaves (Brahmi) extract in human blood samples diagnosed with hyperlipidemia. Materials and Methods: Herbal extract of arjuna (T. arjuna) and Brahmi (B. monnieri) leaves in distilled water (d/w) and cow’s urine (c/u) [A1, A2, B1, B2] was taken and added to the pooled serum samples collected aseptically and a kinetic study was performed with it. Cholesterol standard was obtained from Erba chem Transasia kit (Trinder’s method, endpoint) with standard cutoff value 200 mg/dL. Results: Baseline reading of total cholesterol in all samples was 189 mg/dL. After 2 h, total cholesterol reading in A1 was 159 mg/dL, 157, 155 and 154 mg/dL in A2, B1, B2, respectively. After 4 h, total cholesterol reading in A1 was 149 mg/dL, 148, 146, and 144 mg/dL in A2, B1, B2, respectively. After 6 h, total cholesterol reading in A1 was 109 mg/dL, 104, 112, and 110 mg/dL in A2, B1, B2, respectively. Conclusion: From the findings of the present study, it was found that aqueous extract of Brahmi (B. monnieri) and T. arjuna (Arjuna) were effective in reducing total cholesterol levels. It can be considered as a potential therapeutic alternative in patients with hyperlipidemia, but warrants further clinical studies.

Association between non-high density lipoprotein-cholesterol fractions and presence of allostatic load among industrial workers

Objectives: Non-high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) fraction is the total cholesterol (TC) minus HDL-C. It is not a routinely reported component of lipid profile and is used in lipoprotein lowering therapy and prediction of coronary artery disease, target organ damage and atherosclerosis. Allostatic load (AL) is an imbalance between repetitive chronic exposure to stress and adaptive response. The present study investigates the association between non-HDL-C and its fractions (non-HDL-C/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/TC, non-HDL-C/ triglyceride [TG] and non-HDL-C/low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C]) and the presence of AL to determine, which fractions of non-HDL-C predict the diagnostic accuracy and optimal cut points. Materials and Methods: The study design is cross-sectional and data were collected from 169 male industrial workers. AL was measured using neuroendocrine (cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate), cardiovascular (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate), metabolic (TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C) and anthropometric (waist-hip ratio and body mass index) factors. The fractions of non-HDL-C/HDL-C, nonHDL-C/TC, non-HDL-C/TG and non-HDL-C/LDL-C were calculated using non-HDL-C, HDL-C, TC, TG and LDL-C values. Results: About 43.2% and 56.8% of workers had low and high AL, respectively. The non-HDL-C and its fractions such as non-HDL-C/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/TC and non-HDL-C/LDL-C were significantly increased in the high AL group. Stepwise regression analysis was used to examine the association between non-HDL-C fractions and AL. The fractions of non-HDL-C (? = 0.785, P = 0.001), non-HDL-C/TC (? = ?0.336, P = 0.001) and nonHDL-C/LDL-C (? = 0.295, P = 0.001) influenced AL by 38.6%. The AUC with 95% CI in the high AL group was as follows: non-HDL-C 0.766 (0.696–0.837, P = 0.001); non-HDL-C/HDL-C 0.638 (0.555–0.721, P = 0.002); nonHDL-C/TC 0.635 (0.552–0.712, P = 0.003) and non-HDL-C/LDL-C 0.520 (0.433–0.607, P = 0.657). Non-HDL-C and its fractions were more precisely predicted in the high AL category of workers than in the low AL category. Non-HDL-C predicted the most precisely, followed by non-HDL-C/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/TC, non-HDL-C/ LDL-C and non-HDL-C/TG. Conclusion: According to the present study, non-HDL-C and its fractions such as non-HDL-C/HDL-C, nonHDL-C/TC and non-HDL-C/LDL-C should be considered regular lipid profiles and could be used as biomarkers to reduce the risk of AL.

Correlation between serum ferritin and gall stones

Background: The incidence of gall stones is in increasing trend. The old axiom that a typical gall stone sufferer is a fat, fertile, female of fifty, is only partially true, as the disease is found in women soon after their first delivery, in underweight and thin people. So, while searching for other parameters, iron deficiency was found to be a new parameter of interest in the aetiology of gall stones.7Methods: 50 cases of cholelithiasis and 40 cases of anaemia with low serum ferritin levels from September 2017 to August 2019 was studied. Serum iron was estimated by carbonyl metallo-immunoassay method. Serum cholesterol was estimated by the CHOD-POD Enzymatic method. Biliary cholesterol was estimated after extraction of biliary lipids from bile from the gallbladder specimen of the patients by the method of Folch et al which was followed by the procedure similar to the analysis of serum cholesterol by CHOD-POD enzymatic method. Fischer’s chi square exact test was used as statistical method.Results: It was observed that 70% of the group A study group with cholelithiasis had normal serum ferritin levels and 30% had low serum ferritin levels. It was observed that 95% had normal sonographic findings and 5% had cholelithiasis with normal ferritin levels in group B.Conclusions: In our study low serum ferritin levels with cholelithiasis was associated with raised bile cholesterol levels and so it can be concluded that low serum ferritin level is causing biliary stasis and hence leading to increase in the incidence of cholelithiasis.

Correlation Analysis between Serum Complement C3,C4 Levels and HDL-C in Patients with Coronary Atherosclerotic Heart Disease / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

Objective]The aim of this study was to investigate the level of serum C3,C4 and HDL-C in patients with coronary heart disease and the correlation between C3,C4 and HDL-C in patients with coronary heart disease.[Methods]We collected 251 cases of patient diagnosed with coronary artery disease by coronary angiography in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital ,Sun Yat-Sen University from 2015-12 to 2016-07 and collected over our Boji Medical Center healthy people in 214 cases. These patients were divided into acute coronary syndrome group with 180 cases and stable coronary heart disease group with 71 cases. Each test results was adopted from clinical laboratory of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital ,Sun Yat-Sen University.[Results]Compared with the healthy control ,the difference of serum C3,C4 and HDL-C from acute coronary syndrome group and stable coronary heart disease group,was statistically significant(P 0.05)between C3,C4 and HDL-C. In healthy group,complement C3 negatively correlated with HDL-C,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).[Conclusions]In patients with coronary heart disease, the level of C3 and C4 increased,while the level of HDL-C decreased ,and inflammation may affect the relevance judgments between complement and HDL-C.

Relationship between Glycated Hemoglobin and Serum Lipid Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus – A Case-control Study.

Aims: The aim of the study is to find whether there is any relationship between glycated hemoglobin level and serum lipid profile in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Study Design: A total of 128 study participants were approached during a period 6 months of which 72 were confirmed cases of type-2 diabetes mellitus and remaining 56 were non- diabetic, and served as control subjects under the age group of 30-60 years. Methodology: Fasting blood samples were collected from all the subjects. Body Mass index (BMI) was calculated. Fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) was measured using commercially available kits. Statistical analysis was performed by use o f SPSS version l6. Results: Plasma FBS level of diabetic group was significantly higher (p=0.001) than that of the non diabetic subjects as shown in table. TC, TG, LDL and VLDL were higher in diabetic group when compared to that of non-diabetic group, except for HDL which was lower in dian=betic group when compared to non-diabetic greoup. LDL was statistically significant between the non-diabetic and diabetic groups. HbA1c levels of both diabetic and non- diabetic groups showed a significant correlation with TG, HDL, LDL and VLDL (p<0.05) except for cholesterol. Conclusion: The findings of this study clearly indicate that HbA1c as a useful biomarker for long-term glycaemic control and also as a good predictor of lipid profile.

Resveratrol improves vascular endothelial injury induced by high-calorie and high-cholestrol diet through reduced ERS and increased eNOS expression / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study whether the mechanisms in-volved in resveratrol′s protective effects on vascular en-dothelial injury induced by high-calorie and high-chol-estrol diet are concerned with ERS and the change of eNOS expression. Methods Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into standard control diet (SCD),high-calorie and high-cholestrol diet(HCD)and HCD group treated with resveratrol (HCD +RES,400 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 ,1 2 weeks).Then the thoracic aorta was separated,embedded and sliced to analyze the pathological changes by HE and resor-cinol staining.The protein distribution of eNOS was measured with immunohistochemical analysis.The up-stream and downstream genes of ERS in thoracic aorta were detected by RT-PCR.After the pretreatment with different concentrations of resveratrol,the mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAECs)were treated with palmitic acid,then the changes of cell proliferation in each group were compared.Western blot,immunofluores-cence and immunohistochemistry were used to deter-mine the protein expressions of GRP78,CHOP and eNOS respectively.Results Mice fed with HCD showed thickening of thoracic aortic wall and disorgan-ized elastic fibers as compared with those in SCD group.The mRNA levels of ERS related genes were all increased obviously (P <0.05),while the protein expression of eNOS was decreased.Compared with HCDgroup,the thickened wall and the disorganized elasticfibers were improved significantly,the mRNA levels ofERS related genes were all decreased obviously (P <0.05)and the expression of eNOS protein was increased in HCD +RES group.Compared with NCgroup, the cell proliferation was significantly decreased,meanwhile GRP78 and CHOP was significantly increased (P <0.05)and the protein expression ofeNOS was decreased in PA group.The cell proliferation was increased significantly (P <0.05),the mRNA and protein expression of GRP78 and CHOP wasobviously decreased (P <0.05),meanwhile the protein expression of eNOS was increased in the mediumand large dose of RES pretreatment groups.Conclusion Resveratrol has obvious effects of improving endothelial damages induced by HCD and decreasing cellproliferateion of MAECs induced by PA, and themechanisms are possibly related with decreased ERSand increased level of eNOS protein.

A Case of Cholesterol Granuloma of the Frontal and Ethmoid Sinus / 대한이비인후과학회지

Cholesterol granuloma of the paranasal sinus is a rare condition. It is rarely diagnosed preoperatively, as correct diagnosis depends on its characteristic histological picture. It is currently thought that impaired drainage, hemorrhage and inadequate ventilation play significant roles in its pathogenesis. We have experienced a case of cholesterol granuloma that had developed in the frontal and the ethmoid sinuses, which was managed successfully by transnasal endoscopic marsupialization. We report this case with a literature review.

The effects of Cigarrete Smoking on Serum Lipid Profile in young-and middle-aged men

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and a correctable risk factor. In middle and old-aged men, cardiovascular disease is in prevalence than at any other age. Most smokes, start smoking in their twenties and continued to do so until middle to-old-age. Cardiovascular disease are higher prevalence than any other of that in middle and old aged men, especia]Iy in young-and middle-aged men. We examined the association between smoking and their level of plasma lipids. METHODS: Subjects were 238 healthy male non-smokers and 238 male smoker of 21-45 years of age, age matched, and were comparatively observed from May 1 to November 30, 1997 in a university hospital, Taegu, Korea. Subjects were interviewed by a research doctor who recorded subject's sociodemographic data, drinking amount, exercise, smoking status and smoking amount. We checked the level of serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, tri-glyceridea on a fasting state and BMI. RESULTS: The results showed that smoking had a remarkable influence on HDL cholerol, triglyceride, atherogenic index(ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol) between nonsmoker and healthy male smokers. After adjusting for body mass index, the level of HDL cholesterol of smoking group in 31-35 year age group were obviously lower than nonsmoking that age group. The level of triglycerlde in 31-35, 41-45 year age group were obviously higher than same nonsmoking groups. Atherogenic index in 31-35 year age group was obviously higher than nonsmoking that age group. But, no association between cigarette smoking and level of plasma total cholesterol was observed. HDL cholesterol, glyceride, atherogenic index were significant difference beyond 11 pack-years or 20 cigarettes/day smoking groups than nonsmoking groups. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the these finding, it is recommend that smoking cessation strategies for perceived healthy third decade and fourth decade men build up. I suggest smoking cessation education should start in the early age as soon as possible.