A PILOT STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF SOOKSHMA ELADI CHOORNAM IN HYPERLIPIDAEMIA

Introduction:Hyperlipidaemia is an abnormally elevated levels of any or all lipids in the blood. A strong association exists between hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease (CAD). It also leads to conditions like cerebrovascular stroke, and peripheral vascular diseases. Along with hyperlipidaemia , AIP is also critical marker to evaluate the risk of CAD. Ayurveda enlists numerous drugs which when applied clinically have a very good effect on hridroga. Sookshma eladi choornam which is indicated in hridroga prakrana is selected for the present study to evaluate its effects in hyperlipidaemia and AIP against the controlled drug atorvastatin. Objective: A randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effect of Sookshma eladi choonam[1] in individuals with Hyperlipidaemia. Methods: Ten adults with hyperlipidemia (elevated S cholesterol or Triglycerides or Low density lipoproproteins) or elevated Atherogenic Plasma Index participated in a controlled randomized, open labeled pilot study. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 3 g of Sookshma eladi choornam twice daily (n =5) or Standard drug Atorvastatin (n=5) for 12 wks. The main outcome measures were fasting serum cholesterol,Triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins & AIP. The efficacy outcome was evaluated after 12thwk. Results: Ten participants (n = 5 per group) completed the 12-wk treatment protocol. The control drug was 60% efficacious in controlling the S. cholesterol levels (p< 0.01) and the trial drug showed 65% relief (p< 0.01). The control drug was 64% efficacious in controlling the TGL levels (p < 0.01) and the trial drug showed 72% relief (p< 0.01).The control drug was 70% efficacious in controlling the LDL levels (p< 0.01) and the trial drug showed 73% relief (p = 0.01). The control drug was 89% (p < 0.01) efficacious for AIP index and the trial drug showed 93% relief(p < 0.001). Conclusion: In comparison the trial group has shown much better results when compared to the controlled drug. The overall effect of Sookshma eladi choornam was found to be better in the management of hyperlipidaemia. Key words:Hyperlipidaemia, Atherogenic Plasma Index, Sooskhma eladi choornam, Atorvastati