Rhus coriaria L. increases serum apolipoprotein-A1 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels： a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial

• Published in: Journal of integrative medicine 2018, Vol.16 (1), p.45-50
• Main Authors: Hajmohammadi, Zahra, Heydari, Mojtaba, Nimrouzi, Majid, Faridi, Pouya, Zibaeenezhad, Mohammad Javad, Omrani, Gholamhossein Ranjbar, Shams, Mesbah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apolipoproteins A; Dietary supplements; Double-blind method; Dyslipidemias; Lipids; Plants; Randomized controlled trial; Rhus coriaria L
• ISSN: 2095-4964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2017.12.007

Background： Lipid-lowering effect ofRhus coriaria L. （Rhus） has been investigated in multiple animal stud- ies with promising results. Nonetheless, its clinical efficacy has not been adequately examined. Objective： The aim of this study was to evaluate the lipid-lowering effects of Rhus among patients with hyperlipidemia. Design, setting, participants and interventions： The study was designed as a two-arm, double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, using a parallel design. Eighty patients with primary hyper- lipidemia were randomly assigned to receive Rhus capsules or placebo for 6 weeks. Main outcome measures： The serum lipid levels, apolipoprotein-A1 （Apo-A1） and apolipoprotein-B （Apo-B） were measured. Results： Mean serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） and Apo-Al levels were significantly increased in the Rhus group, compared with the placebo group, after 6 weeks of intervention （P= 0.001）. The analysis of covariance test including age, gender, body mass index （BMI）, and smoking as co-variables revealed that the increase in HDL-C and Apo-A1 levels remained significant, and increases in HDL-C were dependent on the increase in Apo-A1 levels. No significant difference was observed between Rhus and placebo groups in terms of mean reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipopro- tein cholesterol and triglyceride levels; however, more significant improvement was observed among obese patients （BMI≥ 30 kg/m^2）. Conclusion： The study showed significant increases in HDL-C and Apo-Al levels in response to Rhus sup- plementation in patients with hyperlipidemia. Trial registration： ClinicalTrials.gov ID： NCT02295293.