No abstract

Metabolism is the process your body uses to make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system (enzymes) break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues. If you have a metabolic disorder, something goes wrong with this process. Dyslipidemia is main etiological factor leading to develop coronary artery disease (CAD). Allopathic drugs used in cure of hyperlipidemia, have unwanted effects, so have poor compliance. Now a day's nutraceuticals are getting popularity due to their moderate hypolipidemic actions with fewer adverse effects. Niacin or vitamin B-3 is used as hypolipidemic agent which increases HDL-cholesterol and decreases LDL-cholesterol, VLDL, TGs by different mechanisms. But its main adverse effects are flushing due to synthesis of Prostaglandin D-2 which has vasodilatory effect causing flushing. Cardamom is herb having hypolipidemic potential if used in specific concentration for long time. In this work we did try to compare these two medicines hypolipidemic effects. Study was single blind placebo-controlled conducted at Jinnah Hospital Lahore-Pakistan from July to November 2018. Seventy-five hyperlipidemic patients were selected and divided in three groups. Their base line lipid profile was determined at laboratory of the hospital. Patients were divided in three groups. Group-1 was on placebo therapy, Group-II was on Niacin 1.5 grams daily in divided doses, and Group-III was on Cardamom 1 gram daily in three divided doses. It was two months therapeutic design. At completion of therapeutic regimen after two months we measured all patient's lipid profile. When results were compiled and pre and post treatment values were analyzed statistically, it was observed that both drugs hypolipidemic potential is different, although both have hypolipidemic characteristic, but Niacin is the best for treating Hyperlipidemia. For statistical analysis we used SPSS version 5.0 and paired 't' test was applied to understand significant changes in two tested group's lipid profile.