Background: Dyslipidemia leads to micro-and macro-vascular complications. Atorvastatin is the main therapeutic drug used for dyslipidemia, but it causes side effects such as new type 2 diabetes mellitus onset and elevation of liver enzymes. Herbs may be useful in reducing atorvastatin doses. Caper fruit, an herbal drug in Persian Medicine, has hypolipidemic effects. Hence, the effect of atorvastatin therapy with and without daily caper fruit pickle (CFP) consumption was assessed on hyperlipidemia. Materials and Methods: In this single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial, 60 hyperlipidemic patients were allocated in two groups and treated with 10 mg atorvastatin plus 40-50 g CFP (A10+CFP) or atorvastatin alone (A10) for eight weeks. Biochemical parameters were measured at baseline, 4, and eight weeks of the intervention. One-way repeated measure ANOVA and mixed ANOVA were used to measure the effect of the two treatments and the interaction between the type of treatment and time on lipid profile. Results: Serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly decreased in the A10+CFP group compared with the A10 group (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively) from baseline up to the week 8. At week 4, mean changes of LDL-C was significantly higher in the A10+CFP compared with the A10 (P=0.01). Adjusting for the baseline variables, the mean difference of alanine aminotransferase (P<0.01) and triglyceride (P=0.003) were significantly higher in the A10+CFP group at the end. Conclusion: This study reports that the intake of CFP along with atorvastatin daily may have synergistic effects which improve the lipid profile in hyperlipidemic patients. [GMJ.2019;8:e1345]

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the affected subjects. With 20 to 30% prevalence rate among the adult population of most countries, it is considered a pandemic problem. The guidelines currently available on the management of the specific components of metabolic syndrome highlight some lifestyle changes such as enhanced physical activity and weight reduction. Adherence to Mediterranean-style diet has been shown to be associated with lower risk of metabolic syndrome in some clinical studies.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was the evaluation of the effect Razavi dietary pattern, on metabolic syndrome. This is the first study performed to address this issue.Patients and MethodsSeventy five eligible subjects with metabolic syndrome were recruited into a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial to determine the effect of Razavi diet on metabolic syndrome. Intervention was carried out by educating the Razavi diet in the experimental group while giving no dietary recommendations to the control group. The level of physical activity was similar between the two groups. Features of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the criteria of the Iranian National Committee of Obesity were assessed after two months.ResultsThe net reduction in the waist circumference (-2.85), weight (-1.44) and BMI (-0.58) in test group was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the control. Decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and triglycerides were observed but were not statistically significant.ConclusionsThe results suggest that Razavi diet can improve some components of metabolic syndrome leading to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

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