Effects of Ajwa date seed powder on serum lipids in humans: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Hyperlipidemia is one of the common risk factors of cardiovascular disease. The effects of Ajwa date seed powder on serum lipid profile in human beings in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study were evaluated. Hypercholesterolemic patients were instructed to take the Ajwa date seed powder (200 mg of seed powder filled in each capsule) three times daily after a meal for 90 days as a form of treatment once distributing them to intervention (n = 30) or placebo (n = 28) group. Each group was similar in essential baseline characteristics with no significant differences. The primary outcome measure was total cholesterol (TC) levels. Secondary outcome measures were low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The Ajwa date seed powder yielded a 19.4 %, 22.5 %, and 25.78 % decrease in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG) levels respectively along with an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels by 23.81 % in the intervention group, and these values were significantly better than those of the placebo group. In summary, Ajwa date seed powder was found to have positive effects by improving serum lipid profile in the intervention group compared to the placebo group.