Momordica charantia L. for hyperlipidaemia: A randomised controlled assessment of the Ghanaian herbal medicinal product MCP-1

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are a public health burden for developing countries like Ghana. Scientifically validated herbal medicines are viable options in the prevention and treatment of such conditions. In this study, a randomised controlled trial involving 15 healthy subjects identified with hyperlipidaemia was undertaken. Treatment comprised a traditional Ghanaian herbal formulation prepared from the leaves and twines of Momordica charantia (MCP-1) with a standard dietary guideline. A control group was managed using a standard dietary guideline alone. In all, 15 subjects completed the study: MCP-1 had 10 subjects and 5 subjects in the control group. At the termination of the trial after 8 weeks, reduction in lipoprotein values were recorded for all participants. In the MCP-1 group, triglycerides reduced by 3.46 % compared to 3.37 % for the control while total cholesterol was also reduced by 9.78 % and 9.43 % in the MCP-1 and control groups respectively. High density lipoproteins (HDL) levels increased by 6.92 % for MCP-1 and 3.92 % for the control group. However, these changes were not statistically significant except in the instance of the low-density lipoproteins (LDL-c; CI: -41.24 to -19.76) and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL-c; CI: -26.87 to -8.192). Changes to other disease indices such as blood pressure (BP), fasting blood sugar (FBS) and body mass index (BMI) were also not different between the 2 groups. MCP-1 was well tolerated among the subjects and was shown to be safe from the biochemical and haematological indicators. The product, MCP-1 has therefore been shown to be a safe and prospective anti-lipidaemic agent.