Evidence-based study of Hridayarnava Rasa: An Ayurvedic formulation in experimentally induced atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Ayurvedic medicine provides fundamental knowledge of the concepts and components involved in traditional medicine. Hridayarnava Rasa (H. Rasa) is an Ayurvedic formulation, composed of herbal constituents and metallo-mineral ingredients. Individual components of H. Rasa were reported to treat various ailments; however, very few evidence-based studies on the formulation were available in other aspects of H. Rasa. The present study was focused on the evidence-based assessment of the test of H. Rasa in experimentally induced atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). METHODS: A total of 24 male New Zealand rabbits were randomly distributed into six groups of four rabbits each. Group I rabbits were fed with a standard pellet diet; group II was induced with ASCVD; groups III, IV, and V were induced with ASCVD plus different doses of H. Rasa, and group VI was induced with ASCVD plus atorvastatin supplementation. RESULTS: Plasma lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyltransferase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), very LDLc, AST:ALT ratio, hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme reductase activity, collagen, and elastin were significantly increased, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly decreased in ASCVD induced group. This was supported by CD68 levels of the aorta by immunohistochemistry. Changes were reversed in H. Rasa-treated groups of different doses of the drug. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a high-fat diet accelerates the development of ASCVD in a time-dependent manner, and H. Rasa protects the aorta by maintaining the lipids, lipoproteins, and marker enzymes in a dose-dependent manner similar to atorvastatin.