PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY ON COMPARISON OF TWO HERBAL HYPOLIPIDEMIC AGENTS

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia, either primary or secondary causes atherogenetic abnormalities leading to coronary artery disease, cardiac arrest and arrhythmias. Herbal therapy for prevention or cure of Hyperlipidemia is replacing allopathic medicine due to their bioequivalence and good compliance features. This study was conducted to compare hypolipidemic effects of Garlic and Nigella sativa. Place of Study: Study was conducted at Jinnah Hospital Lahore from July 2013 to December 2013. Seventy five hyperlipidemic patients were enrolled after getting written consent which was approved by Ethics committee of the hospital. Grouping: They were divided in three equal groups comprising 25 patients in each group. Group-A was treated by Nigella Sativa, Group-B was advised to take Garlic 10 grams twice daily for two months. Group-C was on placebo. Results: After two months therapy it was observed by statistical analysis that Nigella sativa decreased total cholesterol 12.4 mg/dl, triglycerides 16.7 mg/dl, and LDL cholesterol 27.3 mg/dl. HDL rise was 5.2 mg/dl. Garlic decreased total cholesterol 17.9 mg/dl, triglycerides 19.9 mg/dl and LDL cholesterol 14.8 mg/dl. HDL cholesterol rise was 8.0 mg/dl. Conclusion: It was concluded from this study that there is little difference between hypolipidemic effects of two important and famous herbal medicines ie, Nigella sativa and Garlic