ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular diseases, often associated with dyslipidemia, continue to be a major global health concern. Dyslipidemia is characterized by elevated levels of blood lipids, including cholesterol and triglycerides, which increase the risk of atherosclerosis and related complications. Statins, such as atorvastatin, have been widely prescribed to lower lipid profiles, but they may have side effects and limitations. This project aimed to investigate the potential hypolipidemic effects of paxherbal Bitters, a traditional herbal remedy, in a rat model of hyperlipidemia induced by a high fructose diet. The study also included a positive control group treated with atorvastatin, a commonly used lipid-lowering drug. Male wistar rats were divided into four groups: a control group (standard diet), a high fructose diet group, a paxherbal Bitters treatment group, and an atorvastatin treatment group. The experimental period lasted for four weeks. Blood lipid profile parameters, including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG), were measured at baseline and after the intervention. The results of the experiment showed that the high fructose diet significantly elevated the lipid profile parameters in the rat model, mimicking the hyperlipidemic conditions often observed in humans. Remarkably, the paxherbal Bitters treatment group exhibited a significant reduction in TC, LDL-C, and TG levels compared to the hyperlipidemic group. The HDL-C levels also increased, indicating improved lipid metabolism. These findings suggest that paxherbal Bitters has potential hypolipidemic effects, in parallel to the atorvastatin-treated group which also demonstrated similar lipid-lowering effects, validating the efficacy of the positive control. However, it is noteworthy that the paxherbal Bitters group showed a favorable lipid profile improvement without the side effects commonly associated with statin medications.
