Abstract
Korean red ginseng (KRG) is known to exert beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. Meanwhile, reduced estrogen at menopause has been shown to have various adverse impacts on cardiovascular risk factors, including blood lipids. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of KRG on cholesterol metabolites, which are surrogate markers of cholesterol absorption and biosynthesis, in postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia. The present study is an exploratory study which used data from a 4-week, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical pilot study in 68 postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia. Patients received KRG (2 g) or placebo (2 g) once daily. The primary endpoints were changes in the levels of nine sterols. Serum sterols were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS analysis. Among the sterols, reduction in cholesterol level were significantly larger in the KRG group than in the placebo group (the changes: −148.3 ± 261.1 nmol/mL in the ginseng group vs. −23.0 ± 220.5 nmol/mL in the placebo group, p = 0.039). Additionally, changes in 7-hydroxycholesterol (7-OHC) were significantly larger in the KRG group than in the placebo group (the changes: −0.05 ± 0.09 nmol/mL in the ginseng group vs. −0.002 ± 0.1 nmol/mL in the placebo group, p = 0.047). Oxysterols, cholesterol derivates, have been known to play a role in chronic inflammation diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. KRG improves sterol metabolism by decreasing cholesterol and 7-OHC levels in postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischemic heart disease, remains the global leading cause of death in older women [1]
The baseline characteristics were similar between the Korean red ginseng (KRG) (n = 36) and placebo (n = 32) groups in regards to age
The proportion of participants with hypertension or diabetes were similar between the KRG and placebo groups
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischemic heart disease, remains the global leading cause of death in older women [1]. Changes in blood lipids contribute to an increased risk of developing CVD. After 20 years of age, total blood cholesterol levels increase continuously in men and women. In men >50 years of age, blood cholesterol levels plateau, whereas in women >40 years of age, blood cholesterol levels increase progressively [2]. In women between 40 and 60 years of age, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels increase ~0.05 mmol/L per year; between the ages of 55–60 years, LDL cholesterol levels are greater in women than in men [2,3].
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